Through A Child's Eyes
by kaela097
Summary: Another story in my continuing saga of Blair and Chuck and their life together. . . Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**First off, I have to say, those that have followed me from story to story . . . thank you. Your words of encouragement mean more to me than I'm able to express.**

**Here we go again with another series in my continuing story of Chuck and Blair, and their life together. This story is set just a few months after "Starting the Conversation" & "Daddy's Little Girl" & "This Christmas". You might want to check those stories out first if you haven't read them (shameless plug . . . sorry). And if anyone needs an updated sequence as to how my stories fit together (and yes, even though they are written and published out of sequence, they are mostly meant to fit together). I plan on updating my profile soon to plug in the new additions that I have added.**

"Only two weeks left, CEO Bass," Blair cooed as he stepped off the elevator after a long Friday at the office. As had been their routine, Charlotte was riding Blair's hip in eager anticipation of Chuck coming home so she could have her daddy time.

Chuck had been counting down the days since he gave his announcement to the Board of Directors more than two months ago. After the Christmas holidays, the board had called an emergency meeting and pleaded with Chuck to give them three months to prepare for his absence. Chuck scoffed at the notion that his replacement needed the additional time, but he conceded to their pleas after demanding that he would be able to leave the office promptly at six each evening and would have all weekends off. He was tired of getting home after Charlotte was already asleep each evening and being pulled into the office during weekend outings with his family.

Chuck smiled brightly as he set down his briefcase and took Charlotte, giving her a big hug and a slobbery kiss on the cheek before he greeted his wife with her kiss.

"How does it feel?" Blair inquired as she reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket to remove his cell phone, turning it off quickly so that they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Right now, it's exhausting," he admitted as Charlotte curled into him tightly. "I trust Davidson completely with running my company, but the board is behaving irrationally. You'd think I was running away to some deserted island without any form of communication. I've had random board members in my office virtually every day since I announced by indefinite leave of absence. They insist on picking my brain of every piece of possibly relevant information they could possibly need. It's almost as if they've never experienced a change in leadership before."

"I'm sorry," Blair spoke sympathetically as she rubbed his shoulder in comfort.

"I feel like a lab rat right now," he stated as he allowed her to guide him towards the dinner that was waiting for him.

After a quiet dinner and an hour of reading bedtime stories to Charlotte in front of the fireplace in their bedroom, Blair took Charlotte and laid her in her crib in the corner before she pulled her husband to their bed, divesting him of his dress shirt as they went.

"Just think, CEO Bass, in a few weeks time, I'll be the breadwinner in this relationship. Who could have ever foreseen that?" she teased as he lifted her blouse over her head and threw it haphazardly to the floor as she climbed over him.

"You have to go back to work first," he reminded her as he caressed the silky softness of her shoulder as he slid one of the straps of her bra off.

"Not until our daughter is at least a year old," Blair stated as her stomach did a sickening little flip at the thought of leaving Charlotte at home for an extended period of time each day.

"Take your time," he assured her as he sat up and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "It's not like we depend on our dual incomes for our comfortable existence."

Blair's smile turned wicked as she pushed at he shoulders roughly as she pinned him to the bed.

"Feisty this evening," he grinned as she began to scratch lightly at his chest. "Lucky me."

"Lucky us," she corrected him as he quickly rolled them over as his lips attached to her neck as he began alternating between biting and sucking as he blazed a trail down to the valley between her breasts, still pushed together by the lingerie she had carefully chosen for him before he arrived home that evening.

"Chuck," she gasped into him as his tongue plunged into her mouth as he rocked his hips as he settled in between her legs. The next sound out of her mouth was a groan of frustration at the amount of clothes they still had on. "Take these off," she mumbled as she motioned towards the clothes on the lower halves of their bodies, but found she lacked the ability to do anything to rectify their situation as her hands had mysteriously been pinned over her head.

"Squirm your way free and take them off yourself," he grinned victoriously as he held her wrists tight over her head as she rocked against him groaning in continued frustration.

"Please," she pleaded as she tried to free her wrists. This was a game they had played often, and she had yet to overpower him. Her best bet was to play to his lust and urges for her. "Don't play with me, just take me. You know you want me as much as I want you. I can feel you against me. Why prolong the agony when I am so ready for you? Can't you feel it?"

"Always," he nodded as he kept his firm grip on her wrists as she continued to squirm underneath him. "If you want me so much, break free."

"We both know I can't," she growled.

"Try for me," he encouraged her as he loosened his hold ever so slightly.

"If you want me just as much as I want you, just let me go," she hissed as she tried twisting her wrists but was unsuccessful at freeing herself. "Our sex life is spicy enough that we don't need these games."

"True," he agreed as he alternated his kisses from one side of her neck to the other. She could feel his smirk against her skin as she gave one more crack at freeing her wrists. Just as she pulled free, Charlotte let out a cry. Chuck whipped his head towards their daughter and was on his feet before Blair had a moment to contemplate her options.

"Charlotte, Mommy and Daddy are trying to have sex," Chuck stated very matter of fact as he picked Charlotte up in his arms and held her tight to his bare chest as he rocked her gently back and forth, "And you, Little Girl, are interrupting. You know we love you, Sweetheart, but that is not acceptable."

Blair chuckled as she listened to his stern lecture.

"So, here is the deal," he continued, "Either you fall back to sleep right now and stay asleep until Mommy and I finish, or you can scream your little lungs out in your own room until we're done. Either way, Mommy and I are finishing what we started."

"Chuck!" Blair scolded.

"Her eyes are closed, and she's already falling back to sleep," Chuck spoke softly as he rotated to show Blair that Charlotte was already settling down.

"You cannot give an infant that kind of ultimatum," Blair stated, "Especially our infant."

"And I'd never let her scream her little lungs out in her room," he assured her as he stepped towards the bed, climbing in with Charlotte still tucked securely in his arms.

"What happened to 'Charlotte is not allowed in our bed'," Blair inquired as she took her daughter from Chuck.

"It's only for a few moments," he shrugged, "She's not sleeping here."

"She feels a little warm," Blair stated as she pressed her lips to Charlotte's forehead. Chuck was off the bed and heading towards the bathroom to grab the ear thermometer.

"98.9," Chuck stated after the thermometer beeped its results.

"Barely above normal," Blair stated as she looked at Chuck with slightly panicked eyes.

"I'll call the pediatrician," he stated as he slid from the bed again.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," Blair stated, "Daddy and Mommy are going to take care of you."

Charlotte began fussing in her sleep as her hand began pulling at her ear.

"Chuck," Blair called out to her husband. She was surprised at how worried her voice sounded.

Chuck strolled into their bedroom with his cell phone attached to his ear as he was obviously speaking to Charlotte's doctor. He stopped speaking as he looked to Blair whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

"She's pulling at her ear," Blair informed him.

Chuck gave that additional information to the doctor, and then listened to the doctor's instructions carefully.

"He thinks it's either a cold, an ear infection, or she could possibly be teething," Chuck informed Blair as he ended the call as he kissed Charlotte's forehead. "He said to give her a dose of Infant Tylenol and watch her closely throughout the night. If her fever spikes we should bring her to the ER. He said he'd make sure she has an appointment first thing in the morning." Blair could see the guilt on his face for the earlier scolding he gave his daughter.

"Chuck, you didn't know she had a fever," Blair stated as she caressed his worried face.

"I had her in my arms. She felt a little warm against my chest. I thought it was from sitting in front of the fire early," Chuck stated as he caressed Charlotte's head.

"Don't beat yourself up," Blair requested as she caressed his chest, "Children get colds."

"I should have known something was wrong. I held her for over a minute," Chuck insisted as his eyes filled with tears. "You held her for a few seconds, and knew instantly that she felt warm. I was too focused on getting back to making love to you that I ignored my daughter's illness."

"Stop," she spoke forcefully as she looked deep into his eyes, "Self loathing isn't going to help our daughter."

"I'll take the first shift. Get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours," Chuck offered as he took Charlotte from Blair and slid from the bed towards the leather chair near her crib.

Blair watched Chuck with Charlotte for a few moments before she disappeared into her closet to find a nightgown.

"I'm so sorry, Charlotte," Chuck whispered softly so that Blair couldn't hear. "I'll never be that selfish ever again."

**TBC. . .**

**Reviews are encouraged. . . **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"You've been awake all night," Blair whispered early the next morning as she discovered that Chuck had held Charlotte all night, "You should have woke me for my shift."

"I'm fine," Chuck yawned as he checked Charlotte's temperature for probably the hundredth time, "Her temperature is holding steady at 98.9."

Blair began to massage his shoulders, but he shrugged her hands away quickly. Blair tried not to be hurt by his rejection of her touch. "Why don't you get in the shower? I'll give Charlotte a bath and get her dressed."

Chuck nodded as he reluctantly handed Blair their daughter.

"Chuck," Blair spoke softly as she watched her husband wince as he stood to stretch his frozen muscles. He probably hadn't moved for most of the evening as Charlotte slept. "Our daughter will be just fine."

He nodded solemnly as he disappeared into the bathroom. Blair could hear the shower starting and then the distinct slamming of the shower door. She knew that he was still angry with himself for the way he behaved the previous evening. She knew they'd have to have a conversation after they returned from Charlotte's doctor appointment. He was being way too hard on himself.

The ride to the doctor's office was quiet. Charlotte was fussier than she normally was as she continued to rub her ear in obvious discomfort. Chuck was staring out at the rapidly disappearing wintry New York scenery so that he wouldn't have to make eye contact with either his wife or his daughter. He hadn't even held Charlotte since he stepped into the shower earlier that morning even though Charlotte kept reaching for him.

"Will you take Charlotte for a few moments?" Blair requested as they sat patiently in the doctor's office as they waited for Charlotte's pediatrician to call them into his office. "I need to use the ladies' room." She really didn't have to, but she knew she needed to force the interaction. Chuck was spending too much negative energy beating himself up.

Chuck nodded as he accepted Charlotte, who instantly curled against his shoulder as she stuck several of her fingers into her mouth as Chuck rubbed her back gently. Blair kissed the back of Charlotte's head and then Chuck's forehead before she left the pair alone.

"You don't even care that I'm a horrible, selfish father, do you," he whispered into Charlotte's ear, "You don't even know what happened last night. I promise you this; I will never make that mistake again. You will always come first to me." As soon as Blair returned, the nurse called them into the exam room where the doctor was waiting for them.

The next thirty minutes were hard for both Blair and Chuck as Charlotte fussed and cried her way through her examination. Charlotte never enjoyed her doctor's appointments when she was healthy. She was ten times worse as she was poked and prodded while sick.

Chuck finally had to leave the room. He couldn't take the crying. It was taking every ounce of strength he had to not beat the pediatrician to a bloody pulp for causing his daughter the obvious pain she was in. Blair was in tears as the exam continued.

"It's a simple ear infection," the doctor finally proclaimed as he finished his examination and handing Blair her daughter to try and calm Charlotte down. Charlotte was practically screaming as the exam ended. "We'll put Charlotte on antibiotics. You'll want to continue to monitor her to make sure her fever doesn't spike. I'll want to see her again in ten days just to make sure that her infection has cleared up. She should start feeling better after just a few doses."

"Is this something that we have to worry about?" Blair inquired as she rubbed Charlotte's back as she tried valiantly to calm Charlotte down, to no avail. "I've read that some children are more prone to ear infections than others and may require more aggressive treatment."

"It's only Charlotte's first infection," the doctor assured her, "We're a ways away from having to go the more aggressive route. Do you know if either yourself or Mister Bass were prone to ear infections as children?"

"I know I wasn't," Blair replied, "But I'm not sure about Chuck. I can ask. Does it make a difference?"

"Not really, but sometimes children with parents that had ear infections as children seem to be at greater risk," the doctor explained as he began writing Charlotte's prescription. Blair nodded as she made a mental note to ask her husband.

"Are we finished?" Blair inquired as she continued to stroke Charlotte's back as she tried to settle her down. Blair wished that Chuck was there at that moment. He had a special bond with Charlotte, which translated into a naturally calming effect on their daughter. As if he could hear her thoughts, Chuck came back into the exam room and took Charlotte in his arms without any hesitation. Charlotte calmed right down as his strong arms wrapped around her.

"Yes," the doctor nodded as Blair gathered their things.

Chuck followed Blair out of the doctor's office as she explained that Charlotte had an ear infection and needed to take antibiotics for ten days, but she should start feeling better soon.

After getting Charlotte to take her first round of medicine, which was no easy feat, Blair convinced Chuck to take his favorite women to breakfast at her favorite restaurant. He wanted to get Charlotte home, so that he could lay down with her as his exhaustion from saying up with her the previous evening was catching up to him, but she batted her beautiful eyelashes and gave him a pathetic pout that he was helpless to resist.

"Did you have ear infections as a child?" Blair inquired as she sipped on her orange juice as Chuck held Charlotte. He wasn't hungry that morning, so he decided to forgo eating so that he could comfort Charlotte who was still in obvious discomfort as she was fussier than either remembered her being in a public place. She was cradled safely in Chuck's arms and had drifted off to sleep.

Chuck looked at Blair in surprise. He clearly wasn't prepared to answer her question. "I don't know," he responded hesitantly. "I don't remember."

"You were sick a lot when we were younger. Don't you remember? You were always missing school," Blair tried to jog his memory.

"I remember that. It made things so much easier when I wanted to ditch school as I got older, but I don't remember why I was out of school to start with. I remember having surgery as a small child, but I have no idea what for. I couldn't even tell you which nanny took care of me during my convalescence," he replied. His mind flashed to one of the only times his father had looked at him with great concern before he quickly disappeared on some business trip to Asia. "Why are you asking?"

"The doctor asked," Blair stated as she fed him a strawberry from her plate, "He said that children of parents who had ear infections as children seemed to be more susceptible to them."

"I don't think it was ear infections," he tried to search his memory. "I remember a plethora of gelato and sorbet. I think it might have been my tonsils. I'd have to pull my medical records to tell you for sure."

He pulled out his cell phone and flipped through his phone looking for his private investigator. It was quite a different process of contacting his PI from when he was younger and had the man on speed dial. After a quick request to have his medical records pulled and reviewed for ear infections, Chuck returned his attention to an amused Blair.

"What's that look?" he inquired as he caught the odd expression on her face.

"Do you realize that you could have simply called your personal physician to get that same information with possibly a lot more accuracy," she inquired as she nearly choked while swallowing a piece of fruit in a hasty fashion.

"Doctors are more of a hassle. They take forever to call you back if you can get them on the phone in the first place. They charge you a ridiculous price even for a mere phone conversation," Chuck stated.

"Since when does the billionaire prince of the Upper East Side worry about how much something costs?" she snickered.

"Since he married his queen and became king and had a little princess of his own. This isn't just my money anymore . . . it's your money, Charlotte's money, and if we decide to have other child it will be his or her money," Chuck stated, "I want to make sure they are taken care of properly."

"You sound ridiculous right now," she informed him, "If we didn't make another penny in our lifetime, our child or children will still never have to work a day in their life if they so choose, and even any grandchildren or great grandchildren that we may be blessed with will never need to work a day in their life, and probably our great, great grandchildren . . ."

"You've made your point," he stopped her from continuing as he reached out to cover her hand with his.

"We should get Charlotte home," Blair suggested as she gave up on trying to get Chuck to eat. "You both look pretty tired."

"I can't speak for Charlotte, but I'm exhausted," he nodded as he shifted Charlotte so that her head was resting on his shoulder. Blair gathered up their belongings and followed him out of the restaurant.

Upon returning to the penthouse, Chuck climbed onto his bed with Charlotte in his arms, placed her on his chest and drifted off to sleep. Blair couldn't resist the urge to grab a camera and capture the moment before she climbed into bed next to them.

Chuck's dreams were anything but comforting. His nightmares were full of his fears of how their daughter would turn out if Charlotte would grow up in the same ignored environment that he and Blair grew up in. She was a hard partying, out of control, sex crazed slut, just as he had been.

"Chuck," Blair whispered softly as she tried to wake her husband. He was talking in his sleep, which was very uncharacteristic of him. She couldn't make out all the words, but she picked up enough to know that his dreams were disturbing to him. Blair was finally able to shake him awake. He gasped for air as his eyes shot open.

He looked to Charlotte who was still sleeping soundly and sighed in relief. She looked every bit the angel that she was as she sucked on her thumb while sleeping on his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she inquired as she rubbed his shoulder gently as he worked to regulate his breathing so not to wake their daughter.

"Not now," he shook his head as he kissed the top of Charlotte's head.

"Where did you disappear to during Charlotte's doctor appointment?" she inquired curiously.

Chuck looked away from his beautiful wife as he tried to dodge the question by slipping from the bed.

"Walking away isn't going to stop me from asking the question again," Blair stated as she slid from the bed and followed him out of their room. "Chuck, where did you go? Your daughter needed you."

"I know," he stated as he turned towards Blair, his shoulders hunched over as he handed Charlotte to Blair and walked towards his office to pour himself a glass of vodka from his wet bar. Blair's hand on his wrist stopped him from slamming back the drink and pouring himself another.

"Where did you go?" she insisted.

"I went to the bathroom to throw up," Chuck responded as he averted his eyes. "Listening to Charlotte's desperate cries turned my stomach into knots so fierce that it made me ill."

"Chuck," she gasped.

"I'm failing as a father," Chuck choked out as he finally gulped down the first tumbler of Vodka. "It's happening slowly, but I'm turning into my father."

"You are not," Blair spoke definitively as she pulled the glass out of his hands before he had a chance to pour another drink, "And drinking is not the answer. You know better than anyone that alcohol does not solve your issues. They'll still be there when you sober up."

"It numbs me out," he responded as he grabbed the glass from her, "Right now I don't want to feel anything. I want all of this to go away."

"What are you feeling right now," Blair pressed as she snatched the glass from him once more. He cursed under his breath when he spilled some of the liquid on the table.

"We are not having this discussion right now," Chuck stated as he reached behind her back and grabbed the glass from Blair successfully and pounded back another glass of vodka as he motioned towards Charlotte who was still soundly asleep in her mother's arms. "We're only going to start arguing, and I will not wake Charlotte."

"Don't take another drink until I get back," Blair hissed as she turned sharply and left his office.

"What do you think you're doing?" Chuck inquired as he followed her out of the office with the bottle of Vodka fisted in one hand and his tumbler in the other.

"Putting Charlotte down so that we can have this argument," Blair informed him as she made her way back into the bedroom.

"Don't you dare put her down. She's sick, and she needs you right now," Chuck hissed.

"She needs both of us," Blair insisted as she turned sharply towards him. "And you're two drinks on your way to oblivion which needs to stop right now. You are not going to make Charlotte better by getting drunk."

"Don't you get it," he growled, "I'm letting my daughter down. Last night I yelled at her because she interrupted us while we were making love. Today I walked out during her examination when she needed me the most. She is the one thing in the world that is more important to me than you are. I promised myself that I would never let her down like I did so many times with you over the years. She's not even six months old yet, and I've already broken that promise."

"First off, it's been years since you've let me down, and that was when you were a completely different person. And you have not let Charlotte down, not for one second," Blair insisted as she snatched the bottle out of his hand, setting it down with a loud bang before she turned and snatched the glass out of his other hand while passing their daughter back to her father.

Chuck tried to resist accepting Charlotte.

"Take her," Blair insisted. Chuck shook his head as he stepped away from her. "Take her," Blair repeated, "Or walk away. If you walk away, you had better be prepared to keep walking. You keep thinking that one day you're going to turn into your father. I'm giving you that chance right now. Either you take your daughter right now, or you turn around and walk out that door for good."

"You know I can't do that," Chuck choked out as he took Charlotte and held her tight against his chest as he rocked her back and forth in his arms. Tears were streaming down his face faster than she had ever seen. "I can never walk away from you or Charlotte."

"I know," she assured him as she escorted him to the nearby chair so that he could sit down before his knees gave way.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he sobbed as her arms came around his shoulders as she held him close, "Don't ever give me that ultimatum. My heart cannot take even the thought of walking away."

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she kissed his forehead gently. She knew exactly what she was saying when she first said it, and she knew what his reaction would be. It tore her insides apart to speak the words, but she also knew she had to shock him back to reality.

"I feel so helpless right now," Chuck admitted as Blair began to wipe his tears away. "I have all this money, but nothing that I do right now will make her better."

"All you need to do right now is be here for her," Blair responded. "You are the only one that could calm her down in the doctor's office. You are whom she feels safest with. We both know that to be true. All she needs right now is her daddy."

"She feels warm," Chuck realized suddenly as he kissed Charlotte's forehead. He reached for the thermometer and quickly put it in her ear. He was right. Her fever had increased to 100.9 since it was last checked.

"I'll call the doctor," Blair stated as she rose to her feet.

After a brief conversation with the doctor, Blair informed Chuck that her increased fever was nothing to worry about, and that the new mother and father were simply overreacting to their daughter's first major illness.

"I want a second opinion," Chuck demanded as he snatched Blair's phone from her hand and began scrolling through her contacts.

"Who are you looking for?" Blair inquired as he continued to manipulate the buttons on the phone until he found what he was looking for.

"Lily," he replied as he put the phone to his ear, "She's on the board at New York-Presbyterian. She can put us in touch with some of the best pediatricians in the country."

**TBC. . .**

**Horrible spot to stop, I know, but I didn't want to make you wait too long for the second chapter. I'll post again soon. I promise.**

**For those of you looking for it, I updated my profile to reflect the current sequence of my stories. Wow, I had really been slacking off. There were five stories missing.**

**Keep the reviews coming. I type faster with proper encouragement.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**I promised I wouldn't make you wait too long for the next update. I keep my promises, so here you go. I'm loving the reviews. Keep them coming.**

After a lengthy phone call with his stepmother, Chuck and Blair were bundling up Charlotte once more as they waited patiently for Lily to call them back. She had promised to call the Chief of Staff and get a recommendation and appointment for the top pediatrician in the country who happened to be one of the residents on staff.

"Mister Bass, Mrs. Bass, it's a pleasure to meet you," Doctor Coffey, an attractive, young redhead, greeted them as they stepped into the pediatrician's office. "This must be Charlotte. She's such a beautiful little girl."

Charlotte was pouting at having been rudely woken up from her nap as they stepped into the doctor's waiting room. There had been a toddler in the waiting room that had been screaming at his mother over a toy that caused Charlotte to wake, and she made it known to her parents that she wasn't happy with it.

"I hear you're not feeling well, Charlotte," Doctor Coffey spoke sweetly to the infant as she reached out towards Charlotte.

"Charlotte doesn't like to be held by strangers," Chuck informed the doctor as he turned Charlotte away, not wanting to witness a repeat performance of what had happened earlier that morning.

"Completely normal," Doctor Coffey assured him, "If you'll help me, I'll try to make this as painless as possible for her."

Blair took an instant liking to the new doctor. Charlotte's normal pediatrician wasn't nearly as concerned with what was easiest for Charlotte, as this new doctor appeared to be.

"The original diagnosis appears to be correct," Doctor Coffey confirmed as she began making notes in her chart after she worked with Chuck to exam Charlotte. Charlotte still wasn't thrilled to be examined, but she wasn't crying, so it was definite progress. "I'm going to change her medication. While Amoxil is usually the standard prescription for ear infections, the increase in Charlotte's fever leads me to believe that Rocephin will be the better treatment option for her."

"And this will make her better," Chuck wanted to get some sort of reassurance before he left the doctor's office that he hadn't gotten before.

"Yes, Mister Bass, I believe it will," Doctor Coffey nodded, "I have a two year old son myself, and as a young mother, I know how scary illnesses are for first time parents, especially since Charlotte appears to have been in such good health up until now, but let me assure you both this is completely normal. All children get colds. Some get ear infections, but they do recover. We'll watch Charlotte closely. If her fever increases or you see that her fussing gets worse, call me immediately, day or night, and I can be right over."

"That's a dangerous promise to make," Chuck informed her, "I'm just the sort of father that will hold you to that."

"And I'm the sort of doctor who would expect you to," Doctor Coffey replied with a reassuring smile.

"Expect a substantial raise in your future," Chuck informed her as Blair gathered their belongings. "I see a very large donation being made to this hospital in the very near future."

"That's very generous, Mister Bass," Doctor Coffey informed him, "But let's just focus on getting your daughter healthy first."

* * *

"I think we found ourselves a new pediatrician," Chuck announced as they road back to their penthouse after making a stop at the pharmacy to fill Charlotte's new prescription. After her first dose, Charlotte already appeared to be feeling better.

"I'd say so," Blair nodded, "Do you feel better now that we have that second opinion?"

"Not really," he sighed, "I mean it is a relief to know that two doctors confirmed the diagnosis, and they have both tried to assure us that Charlotte will be better soon, but you know me . . . always expect the worst until it doesn't happen. I don't think I'll be feeling better until Charlotte is."

"I know," she nodded as she settled herself tight against his side as her head came to rest on his shoulder.

"Even as sick as Charlotte is, she's still the most adorable thing in the world," Chuck marveled as Charlotte reached out to grasp his finger, taking it into her mouth to suck on it lightly. "She looks so much like you."

"She has your eyes though," Blair stated as she traced Charlotte's cheek with her finger as Charlotte stared wide-eyed back at her parents.

"I still cannot get over the fact that you and I created this little person," he grinned as Charlotte pushed his finger out of her mouth as she began giggling as Blair tickled her neck. "You and I have made love hundreds of times, but that one time that we came together created this perfect little girl that I love more than life itself, more than I love you. I never thought that would be possible."

"It doesn't seem fair does it," Blair added as she kissed his cheek softly, "We were born into a world where everything was given to us on a silver platter, but we had to wait more than twenty years to be given the most precious thing in the world."

"I love you, Blair," he sighed as he turned his head and kissed her passionately. She was caught off guard by the intensity and furiosity that his lips possessed. Since they were interrupted the previous evening while making love, Chuck had barely allowed himself to touch his wife. Now with Charlotte in his arms, he was kissing her as if his life depended on it.

As Blair moaned into his mouth, Charlotte began to giggle. Chuck pulled away and began laughing along with his daughter.

"Do you think Mommy and Daddy kissing is funny, Little Lady?" Chuck inquired as he began tickling her stomach. "Let me assure you, Sweetheart, it is anything but. You're still pretty young, so you probably don't understand this yet, but what Mommy and Daddy do is as serious as it gets. Sure, we'll laugh and smile from time to time, but when it gets right down to it, Charlotte, Mommy and Daddy's sex life is serious business. And trust me, Sweetheart; you want Mommy and Daddy to have this time together. For your mother can get really cranky if she doesn't have me on an almost daily basis."

"You're one to talk," Blair replied with a roll of her eyes, "I dare you to try going without me for five days. See how cranky you get."

"I would never torture my wife in that way," he grinned. His replied earned another roll of her eyes as Charlotte yawned. Chuck quit tickling his daughter as he repositioned her so that her head was resting against his shoulder in the hopes that she would fall asleep. Blair began rubbing her back as Charlotte let out another healthy yawn. She fell asleep just as the limo pulled up to their building, but her nap didn't last as long as her mother and father hoped it would. With the calming sensation of the moving vehicle gone, Charlotte woke up and began crying as she pulled on her ear once again.

"Arthur, can you drive around Central Park a few times," Chuck inquired as he rolled down the glass partition just before his long time driver was about to step out, "Charlotte seems to like the motion."

"Certainly, Mister Bass," Arthur nodded.

"It's going to be a long night for us," Blair sighed as she rested her head against Chuck's shoulder as she watched Charlotte fall back to sleep before the limo was able to turn it's first corner. "She's either going to be up all night because she slept all day or she's going to sleep for a few hours and then wake up to play."

"We'll manage," Chuck assured his wife as his free arm came around her shoulder to pull her closer to him as he kissed her forehead.

"I noticed you said we'll manage," Blair added as she poked his chest sharply with her finger, "Which means both of us will be involved. Don't you dare try to stay up with Charlotte for a second night in a row. We will be doing this in shifts tonight. If I have to set my alarm myself, I will."

"We'll take shifts," he agreed.

"I'm holding you to that, Bass," she responded.

"I'll even let you take the first shift this time," he offered.

"Such a gentleman," she chuckled.

**TBC. . .**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

After a few times around the park, Charlotte was asleep enough to risk her parents taking her inside to lay her down in her crib.

"Chuck, you should lay down," Blair suggested. He still looked exhausted. The catnap he had gotten earlier did nothing to hide the exhaustion he felt caused by staying up with Charlotte the previous night.

"Come join me," Chuck requested as he climbed onto their bed and patted her usual spot next to him.

Blair pulled Charlotte's favorite blanket up and around their daughter before she slid in next to Chuck, her arm coming to rest at his chest as she snuggled in tight at his side. She felt the familiar pull of lust that always came with being in close proximity to her ridiculously sexy husband, but she knew she couldn't act on her desires. He needed his sleep, and she was determined to give him the rest he needed.

"I don't want to go back to work on Monday," he confessed as he kissed her forehead. "Charlotte's illness has woken me up. I told the board that I would give them three months. Davidson has taken over all of my duties. My days are now full of entertaining the panicky board members. It's time to just walk away."

"Can you do that?" she inquired as she looked up to see the softness in his eyes that surprised her.

"I'm the CEO and Chairman of the Board," he replied, "I can do whatever I choose. I choose to stay home with you and Charlotte."

"Whatever you need to do," Blair replied as she caressed his chest gently.

"I'm calling an emergency board meeting first thing Monday morning. I should be home by noon. If Charlotte is feeling better, perhaps we can take her to the museum. You know how much she loves looking at all of colorful artwork," he suggested.

"She certainly does have good taste," Blair mused as she caught Chuck trying to hide a yawn. "Get some sleep, Bass."

He nodded as he kissed her lips softly before he settled back against their pillows and fell asleep.

* * *

"Shhh, Charlotte," Blair quieted her daughter as she picked her up out of her crib. She and Chuck had been asleep for several hours. Chuck was still sound asleep and Blair hoped he would remain that way even though Charlotte had awoken and was fussing in her crib. "Don't wake up Daddy. He needs his rest."

"It's too late," Chuck mumbled sleepily as he began rubbing his eyes as he woke. "Bring her over here. I want to lay out with my two favorite women." Blair was happy to oblige as she climbed in next to him, handing over Charlotte who was reaching out for Chuck.

"Did you sleep well?" Blair inquired as Charlotte settled against Chuck's chest. She watched as Chuck nodded his agreement.

"How could I not with my beautiful, sexy wife tucked in at my side," he stated as she curled into him again as he ran his hands through her hair. Charlotte reached out for his face as if to tell him that she deserved the attention, not her mother. "How about you, Princess, did you sleep well?" he inquired as he gnawed gently on her outstretched fingers. Charlotte giggled her response as she pulled her hands away from his face.

"We need to get her to take her medicine," Blair announced as she looked at the alarm clock next to her husband's side of the bed. Both Chuck and Blair groaned at the daunting task ahead of them. The first two times had been a nightmare as Charlotte spit up more than she swallowed all while letting her parents know that she wasn't thrilled with what they were forcing her to swallow.

"Perhaps we need to trick her into taking it," Chuck thought out loud, "Switch it up on her."

"She seems to like the applesauce that we've been feeding her," Blair added as she got on the same page as her husband.

"Are we willing to risk turning her off the first solid food that we've introduced to her?" he inquired as he kissed Charlotte's forehead. "We could try rewarding her."

"She's too young for that," Blair stated, "Tricking her is probably the best way to go."

"You get the applesauce. I'll get the medicine," Chuck offered. Blair nodded in relief. She had been sure that Chuck was going to make her be the bad guy in this endeavor.

After sitting Charlotte in her high chair and grabbing their necessary tools, Chuck and Blair sat in front of Charlotte with spoons in their hands. Ever the intelligent child, Charlotte could sense something was up and wouldn't open her mouth for the tasty applesauce she enjoyed so much recently nor the medicine she had spit up earlier much to her parents chagrin.

"Charlotte, if you take your medicine, I'll buy you a pony," Chuck tried.

As if she understood the bribe, she merely shook her head and kept her mouth clamped shut. Blair was chuckling at her husband's transparent attempt to sway their daughter.

"Charlee, how about you take this medicine," Blair stated calmly, "It will help make you feel better and take your ear pain away."

"That's not going to work," Chuck stated in disbelief. Suddenly Charlotte's mouth opened and Blair guided Chuck's hand to slip in the medicine in. Chuck looked at his daughter in bewilderment. Blair gave him an 'I told you so' look as Charlotte swallowed the liquid. "Why did that work?"

"I have no idea," Blair shrugged her shoulders, "I would have gone for the pony myself."

After the medicine went down, they fed Charlotte the applesauce. She had it dibbling down her chin, and she looked adorable as she ate it.

"She deserves a treat for taking her medicine like such a good little girl," Blair eyed her husband as they worked together to give Charlotte a bath.

"You seem to have something in mind, do share," he encouraged her as he read it in her eyes.

"Remember our Christmas Eve tradition," she inquired. When he nodded, she continued, "How about some melted marshmallows? She loved them. We still have some left in the pantry."

"Do you want a toasted marshmallow, Charlotte?" he inquired. Charlotte didn't answer. She just lifted her arms to tell her parents she was done bathing. He pulled her out of the water and held her as Blair dried her off. "I'm not sure she's up for a campfire tonight."

"Let's give it a try. If anything the flames will lull her to sleep," Blair offered up in compromise. She really wanted the s'mores now that they were in her head.

He nodded as he carried Charlotte into her bedroom where he dressed her for bed before he joined Blair on the floor in front of the fireplace in their bedroom where she had laid out all the necessary supplies for s'mores.

"Mommy is just using this as an excuse to eat chocolate," Chuck told Charlotte as he accepted the forked marshmallow Blair was handing him as he held Charlotte in his lap.

"I don't need an excuse to eat chocolate," Blair told him, "And I certainly don't need your permission." To prove her point she broke off a square of chocolate and popped it into her mouth.

Chuck watched her savor the treat and became distracted. Before he had realized what was happening, he had a flaming ball of sugar at the end of his stick and no good way to stop it without the possibility of injuring Charlotte so he let it burn completely while is wife laugh on. He had also missing the way Charlotte's eyes lit up as she watched the marshmallow burst in flames.

"You've never wasted a marshmallow before," Blair continued to laugh as she put another marshmallow onto his stick.

"What do I say to that?" he inquired as he turned his attention to the new marshmallow that he was holding near the flame, "You're too tantalizing for my own good." Suddenly Charlotte reached out and forced Chuck's hand closer to the fire so that the marshmallow was directly into the flames and on fire once more. He didn't miss the spark in her eyes this time.

"Two wasted marshmallows, Chuck are you losing your touch," Blair inquired as she placed another one on the fork.

"That last one wasn't my fault. Watch Charlotte's eyes as this goes up in flames," Chuck instructed her as he instantly put the fork into the fire as the puffed ball exploded in flames. Blair didn't have to see the marshmallow to know when it caught on fire. Charlotte's eyes told her instantly.

"We might have a little pyromaniac on our hands," Blair stated as she thread another marshmallow onto the fork and watched Charlotte's reaction as it went up in flames. Charlotte was practically cheering in excitement.

They continued on for the rest of the evening with the pyrotechnic show. They managed to make a few successful s'mores, but most of the night was devoted to entertaining Charlotte. Luckily she began to show signs of exhaustion just as their last flambéed marshmallow fell from the fork.

**TBC. . .**

**Thoughts . . . enjoying? yes? no?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**Everyone loved Charlotte as a pyromaniac . . . glad to hear everyone enjoyed that as much as I did.**

Chuck groaned as his alarm went off Monday morning. He reached for it quickly so that it wouldn't wake Blair or especially Charlotte. Sunday had been a good day. The medication had the desired effect and their little girl was in a much better mood. Her fever had broken so Chuck was in a better mood. Even better was that Charlotte had slept through the night. Blair had stayed up with Charlotte later than he was, so he decided to let his wife sleep longer than was their morning routine.

He slid out of bed and went immediately to Charlotte's crib. She was sleeping as soundly as her mother. He bent over and kissed her forehead to check to check for a temperature. She squirmed slightly but didn't wake for which Chuck was grateful. Nothing irritated Blair more than to have Charlotte wake for no reason other than he loved showering her with affection. Finding no fever, he kissed her softly once more before he turned towards the bathroom to get ready for his day at the office.

As he dressed, he couldn't ignore the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as if his mind was preparing his stomach for the battle that lay ahead for him that day.

Breaking away from their normal weekend routine, Chuck had called his assistant, Eugenia, the previous day and prepared her for the day that lay ahead of them. She hadn't been as surprised as he thought she might be when he told her his leave was going to start earlier than he had originally agreed, especially when she told him that Charlotte had been sick all weekend. It was as if she had been expecting this day to come.

After he was dressed, he approached Blair's side of the bed, and bent down to kiss her softly on the lips.

"You're dressed already," she pouted as her hands trailed down his shoulders as he kissed her awake, "You should have woken me when the alarm went off."

"You looked so beautiful. I couldn't bring myself to rouse you. I know you stayed up late with Charlotte," he spoke softly.

"I don't care how late I went to bed, you know how much we need each other in the morning, and don't you dare tell me you took matters into your own hands because you know how much that upsets me," she chided him in a voice barely above a whisper. Both were being careful to not wake Charlotte with their playful banter.

"I didn't," he assured her as he felt her hand trail lower down his chest as if she was searching for something. "What are you doing, Blair?"

"Trying to entice you back to bed," she cooed as she grabbed a hold of his manhood.

He tried to fight the groan that wanted to escape, but he was powerless to stop it just as he was powerless to resist her advances. His body responded instantly as she began to caress him.

"Blair," he groaned as she used her other hand to grab onto his tie and pull him towards her.

"We've gone without since Charlotte's fever began," she reminded him, "I need you."

"I have to be leaving for work soon," he reminded her.

"You're the CEO. You set your own schedule," she prodded him as she yanked hard enough on his tie to throw him off balance so that be fell on top of her. She quickly rolled them both so that she was on top and trapping him to the bed so that he couldn't try to get away.

"Blair, this is my last day in the office for god only knows how long. I really shouldn't be late," he groaned as her lips found the weak spot on his neck.

"I'm not letting you out of the house until I have my way with you," she growled as she bit down roughly on his neck, "And I'm not afraid to leave a noticeable mark."

Chuck gave in as his hands began untangling the bed sheets to get to her as she worked his clothes off in record time.

"So warm," he mumbled against her neck as he slid inside her slowly, "So inviting."

Blair's eyes rolled back inside her head as her legs wrapped high around his waist bringing him in deeper. It didn't take long for either of them to reach their peak.

"How do I ever manage to leave this?" he marveled as he lay over her as they tried to catch their collective breath. He knew better than to move at the moment. Blair loved to hold him close after they made love as evidenced by the fact that her arms and legs wrapped tighter around him every time one of his muscles twitched.

"I'm holding you hostage today," Blair announced, as she finally seemed to find her voice, the one that had escaped her during their moment of passion. She had been unusual quiet during their morning escapade. Her voice was raspy and sounded raw as if she had been screaming for her life.

"You feeling okay," he inquired as he kissed her neck as if he was inspecting it for some reason that would explain her voice.

"I'm always more than okay after making love to you," she assured him as he finally found the strength to pry himself out of her embrace. She had a gorgeous pout on her lips as he slipped out of her that he couldn't fight the urge to kiss away.

"I have to get dressed," he told her as he pulled himself free of her clutches again. He looked at the rumbled pile of clothes at the foot of the bed that she had thrown in her haste to have him and concluded that he needed to find a new suit to wear that day. There was no way that he was going to face his last day in office in a rumpled ensemble.

As he dressed for the second time that day, Blair managed to slip into a robe and met him at the breakfast table with the baby monitor in her hand as she slid into the chair next to him. As was their tradition, Chuck gave her a brief run down of what he expected his day to be like. Today was naturally a short list, as he was announcing his leave as soon as he could get the board together.

"Are you sure the company is ready for this?" she inquired as she kissed his hand gently.

"Yes," he nodded confidently, "This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. I told them two months. They begged for three. I've given them two and a half. This is really a good compromise. I need to be home with you and Charlotte."

"Not that I mind," Blair wanted to clarify her statement before she made it, "But have you thought about what our days are going to be like if we spend every waking moment together? We could drive each other crazy."

"We already drive each other crazy," he spoke suggestively as he kissed her hand, which was still joined with his.

"You know what I mean, Bass," she scolded him.

"Believe it or not, I have given this thought," he assured her, "And it's not like we'll be at each other's side every day. You'll still have your days with Serena, only now you'll have someone to take Charlotte so that the two of you can shop without the hassle of lugging Charlotte around."

"Charlotte is not a hassle, and I don't think of it as lugging her around," she snapped.

"Poor choice of words," he conceded, "But still I know how reluctant you are with leaving her with others, hence the 'no nanny' rule we've agreed upon. Now we don't have to worry about that. When you can't be home, I can be and vice versa."

"Just how long do you expect this leave of absence of yours to last?" she asked curiously.

"Honestly, I don't know just yet," he admitted, "I may go completely stir crazy with being home all day, but the more likely option is that I love spending the quality time with Charlotte so much that I give my outright resignation as CEO and just stay on as Chairman of the Board. We'll just have to cross that road when we get to it."

"Chuck Bass as a house husband," she mused with an amused smile, "Why does that sound so ridiculous?"

"Because as you said, I'm Chuck Bass," his voice spoke with a well-rehearsed ease.

Blair closed her eyes as she savored the way those words rolled off his tongue.

"You're so turned on right now, aren't you," he concluded, his voice dripping with amusement as he stood up from his spot at the table and came behind her, whispering in her ear.

"God, yes," she choked out as his hands found her waist and lifted her up from her chair, spinning her around so he could step into her body.

"We have to be quick," he spoke after glancing quickly at his watch before his hands went to her shoulders as slid the silk away from her body.

"Does that mean the clothes need to stay on?" she inquired as her hands went to the belt at his waist and pulled it free.

"Mostly," he nodded as she popped the zipper of his pants and unzipped him quickly.

"Commando, so efficient, aren't we," she cooed as she slid his pants off his hips.

He moved them slightly so that there would be no breakfast dishes in his way as he lifted her up onto the table and climbed over her.

"I think I'm going to enjoy having you home with me every morning," she moaned as he bit her earlobe gently as he surged inside of her for the second time that morning, "This won't have to be rushed anymore."

"Instead of being chased out the door, we'll just have to make sure our cravings are satisfied before Charlotte is awake," he added.

"Never going to happen," she groaned as she felt herself oh so close to her pinnacle, "Never going to be satisfied."

"Tell me your close," he groaned as he felt himself nearing his own climax.

"So close," she responded breathlessly.

"Let go," he encouraged her. Just as the words came out of his mouth, her back arched as he felt her convulse around him. He followed her lead and came just after her.

"That's going to have to hold you for a few hours," he chuckled as they separated reluctantly and found their clothes. Looking at his watch, he was running a few minutes behind his normal schedule, but he knew he wouldn't trade his time with his wife for anything in the world.

"I hope I can make it," she whispered into his ear as he tucked his shirt back into his pants as she straightened his tie as she observed his appearance. "You look like you just had sex."

He glared at her as he picked his belt off the ground and began threading it through his pant loops.

"I miss the suspenders," she told him.

"Doesn't work with these pants," he told her, "And they would have slowed us down a few minutes ago."

"We can't have that," she grinned as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

"Blair, stop," he cautioned her when her lips began caressing his neck once again.

She stuck out her bottom lip to pout as he untangled himself from her limbs.

"One more day, and then I promise to never stop you in the morning ever again," he kissed her forehead gently as he saw his reflection in the mirror and ran his hands through his hair to fix the damage Blair had done during their romp.

"You still have sex hair," Blair told him as he gave up and went to the bedroom to give Charlotte a kiss before he left for the day.

"Good," he called out to her, "Gives me an reminder to hurry home to you quicker."

She was chuckling as he disappeared for a few moments.

"I plan on taking Eugenia out for an early lunch after my meeting," Chuck told her as he guided her towards the elevator with his hand at the small of her back, "But I'll call you as soon as the meeting is over to let you know how it went."

"You should bring Eugenia here for lunch. She hasn't seen Charlee since Christmas, and you know how much our daughter loves her Aunt Eugenia," Blair suggested as they stopped in front of the hall table so he could gather his briefcase, money clip, and work cell phone.

"I'll give that to Eugenia as one of the lunch options," he assured her.

"I love you, Bass," she told him as he stepped onto the elevator.

"I love you too," he told her as the doors slid closed. He took a deep breath as the elevator made it's way to the main lobby. He was so ready to be a full time dad. He just wanted this day over with as quick and painlessly as possible.

**TBC. . . **

**As always, I'd love to hear your feedback. Don't be shy.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Mister Bass, the board will be convening in thirty minutes," Eugenia told him as she greeted him at the elevator as he stepped off to start the day. His stomach had been churning violently since the limo pulled away from his building.

"Did you catch any flack about the suddenness of the meeting?" he inquired as she took a hold of his briefcase as they walked towards his office door.

"None," she responded with a perplexed tone.

"You think they know what is on today's agenda?" he inquired as he studied her curiously. His assistant merely shrugged her shoulders. The meeting was happening much sooner than he had anticipated. He didn't think the meeting would be happening until later in the morning. He realized he may need to amend his invite to Eugenia and invite over for brunch instead.

"Blair called," Eugenia told him.

"Is Charlotte okay?" he asked reflexively.

"I think so," Eugenia replied, "She just told me to have you check your email as soon as you arrive in the office. She sent you something."

"Something you were able to view or something she warned you not to open," he inquired as he raised a curious eyebrow in his assistant's direction. He wouldn't have put it past his wife to send a rather risqué photo of herself to him at work.

"It was completely work appropriate," Eugenia assured him as she chuckled at his curious tone. Clearly the risqué photo from his wife wouldn't have surprised her either.

Chuck went straight to Eugenia's computer, which was closer, and opened his email to see an adorable picture of Charlotte taken as recently as that morning with the caption, "Hurry Home, Daddy." Chuck was smiling from ear to ear as he looked at the picture for a few more moments. He could hear Eugenia sigh of content from behind him.

"Are you trying out a new hair style for your board meeting?" Eugenia inquired as she studied his appearance for a moment. He wasn't as perfectly coifed as he normally was.

"It was Blair's doing," he responded with a shrug.

"As are the faint teeth marks on your neck, I'm guessing," Eugenia responded as she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud as he stood suddenly to check out his neck in a nearby mirror. Sure enough there were the faintest of marks on his neck.

"I guess she meant it when she said she had no problem marking me this morning," he mused as he caressed his neck softly.

"You two are ridiculous sometimes, do you realize that?" Eugenia inquired as she followed him into his office.

"Ridiculously insatiable?" he offered.

"Something like that," she rolled her eyes, "God, I remember what it was like when I first met Blair."

"My first day on the job," he recalled.

"You were so nervous," she chuckled as she recalled the scared shitless look he had on his face as he stepped off the elevator that first morning. "She was the only thing that got you through that first day."

"Don't I know it," he sighed as he picked up the photograph of Blair that she had left in his office during her visit that day. It was on the shelf right next to the picture of his mother in the corner of the room.

"You definitely haven't been what I expected," Eugenia admitted.

"You were expecting the old Chuck Bass," he told her, "The womanizing, alcoholic, drug abusing, spoiled asshole."

"That's pretty harsh," Eugenia flinched at the callous portrait he painted of himself.

"And completely true . . . before Blair," he replied as he rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to release some of the tension he felt building. He should have taken his wife up on the offer of a massage the previous evening, he realized.

"When you first told me you had a steady girlfriend, I honestly didn't believe you," Eugenia told him, "And when you said that she came first no matter what was going on at the office, I thought you were following a different part of your anatomy and not your heart. But the way your eyes lit up when she stepped off that elevator the first morning, my preconceived notions of what to expect while working with you went straight out the window. You were clearly in love. Amazingly that look has never faltered, even after all these years you've had together."

"And it never will," he assured his assistant.

"Listen to us," Eugenia sighed, "Talking as if this is our last day together or something."

"It is an end of an era," he told her.

"You won't be coming back as CEO, will you," she realized as she studied his posture.

"Probably not," he shook his head, "I'll stay with the company. I'll keep my seat on the board so that I still have some say over my family's fortune, but I honestly don't see myself taking back the reins. Just don't tell Blair I told you that. This is a discussion I'll need to have with her at a later date."

"Naturally," Eugenia nodded.

"She has invited you over for lunch today after the board meeting," he informed her. "It may have to be brunch, as we'll probably get out quicker than I had anticipated, but I'm hoping you'll accept her offer."

"Of course," Eugenia responded without hesitation. She loved spending time with Blair. She saw her boss's wife as something of a little sister, and his daughter as her niece. She had been thrilled by the honor they bestowed on her by naming her an honorary aunt.

"Good," he grinned.

"You've got about fifteen minutes before the meeting starts," Eugenia told him as she looked at her watch.

"I'd like you to join me in the meeting," he requested. It wasn't an atypical request as she was frequently called into meetings when certain plans needed to be made, but she knew the invitation today was more of a symbolic gesture. He wanted her with him as he ended something that she had been a part of since the start.

"Absolutely," Eugenia nodded. "I'll let you stare at the picture of your daughter for a few moments to gather your courage."

"Thank you," he laughed genuinely as he took his seat at his desk as she closed his office door and gave him the necessary time to collect his thoughts.

"Well, Dad, this is really happening," he spoke as he turned his chair towards the life size portrait of his father that had hung over his shoulder since he first took over. He always felt that the portrait gave him more guidance over his business affairs that the real man had done in his life, but he hadn't actually spoken to the portrait before. "I really am stepping away from the empire. Part of me thinks you'd be disappointed, but a larger part of me thinks you'd be proud of me for this."

He turned back towards his computer, opening the email from Blair again and smiled at his adorable daughter's beautifully smiling face.

* * *

The announcement that he was leaving his post earlier than agreed upon wasn't the shock to the board that he had expected. There had been no arguments to dissuade him, no raised voices telling him he had to stay. Some actually seemed to be expecting his announcement sooner. While he had been gearing up for a battle, the build up hadn't been at all necessary. They took his news graciously while assuring him that whenever he was ready to come back, they would welcome his return with open arms.

After they gave him a few parting gifts, he and Eugenia made their way back to his office where he instructed her to send out the mass communication that they had prepared to all Bass Industries employees.

They then locked up his office and made their way down to the lobby. Several prominent members of the company were waiting to send him off, including all members of the board. He was truly humbled by the gesture as he took a moment to address them all, as more people joined the spontaneous send off as he spoke.

"It's been over eight years since my father's untimely death which threw this company for a loop. It could have easily spun out of control, but it didn't. That is a testament of all the people not only standing before me, but in this building, in our offices around the globe, and all those that are fortunate to claim they work for the Bass empire.

"While nobody will argue that my only qualification when I first took the helm was my last name, I hope you all can see how much these years have meant to me, and how hard I have worked to not only keep this operation running smoothly, but also to launch us into directions we needed to go.

"Bass Industries wasn't founded on sticking to the status quo, it was built on the belief that boundaries not only need to be pushed, but were supposed to be.

"This company has a humbled beginning, and today I have been truly humbled by your willingness to embrace the huge change that I have put in motion by my decision to step aside as it is what I know to be right for me and my family.

"Know that I have the utmost faith in my replacement, but most importantly I have the utmost faith in each and every one of you. For it is not the leadership at the top that makes a company successful, it is the efforts of everyone from the top to the bottom, and Bass Industries has the best employees in the world. I truly believe that as I believe that this company will continue to thrive for years to come. Good luck, everyone."

Chuck quickly shook his replacement's hand and turned as a thunderous round of applause sent him off with Eugenia at his side as she had been since his first day in office.

"How did it go?" Blair inquired eagerly as she greets her husband and his assistant as they stepped off the elevator. Charlotte, who was in her arms, reached out immediately for Eugenia. Eugenia had been in tears since they found their way into the limo that had been waiting for them, and Chuck was still comforting her as they stepped out. "That's bad?"

"It actually went amazingly well," Chuck stated as he greeted her with a kiss as Blair handed Charlotte to Eugenia.

"Eugenia, what is the matter?" Blair inquired as she put her arms around her shoulders, "You know that Chuck has made arrangements for your continued employment. You have nothing to worry about."

Eugenia shook her head to tell Blair that wasn't what was bothering her. She then looked to Chuck to explain her tears.

"There was an impromptu send off as Eugenia and I left today. Words needed to be spoken. I spoke them. Eugenia's been emotional ever since," he offered.

"They weren't just words," Eugenia chimed in, sniffling as she spoke as Charlotte tried to pry a smile from her Aunt Eugenia's face, "I've worked with your husband for nearly eight years. Never have I known him to be such the poet that I witnessed today."

"Why do you think I married him," Blair quipped as she hugged Eugenia again, "I hope somebody got the speech on videotape."

"I'm sure at least the security cameras caught it," Chuck sighed as he took Charlotte and hugged her tight. "I hate to break it to you, Sweetheart, but you're stuck with me for awhile."

Charlotte giggled in excitement as if she knew exactly what his words meant.

**TBC . . .**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**Thanks to all of those who have reviewed. I love to hear what you all think. There will be more drama coming in chapters to come, but for now a bit more Blair and Chuck couple time. Enjoy.**

"How did it really go today?" Blair inquired, as they climbed into bed that evening. They had been going virtually nonstop since he arrived home from the office that morning.

After brunch with Eugenia, Chuck was pulled into a conference call with most of the financial publications that were insisting on quotes for their featured articles the next morning. He graciously agreed to their requests, knowing that investors would need his assurances as much as his employees had.

Then they took Charlotte to the art museum as they planned. When Charlotte grew particularly attached to one painting, Chuck needed to arrange for purchasing of the portrait, making the curator's day.

Later that day, Lily called and insisted that they all have dinner together that evening at her penthouse. Come to find out, it had been an impromptu celebratory dinner held in his honor with all if their closest family and friends, which Blair knew meant as much to him as his office send off had earlier that day.

Finally Charlotte had fallen asleep and they had time to talk, just the two of them.

"Amazing, inspiring, humbling," Chuck responded as he tried to pick the most appropriate words for how he had felt throughout the day. "Grateful. I'm leaving these people for purely selfish reason. They could have easily just let me walk out the door without a second thought. Yet these same people took time out to wish me luck. It wasn't just members of the board and people I worked with on a regular basis. As I finished speaking, there were mail clerks and janitors and people that I've never met nor had any interaction with all standing there, tears in their eyes, applauding as I walked away."

"Tomorrow you get to sleep in. We can be lazy and stay in bed all day if we want," she told him as she caressed his bare chest as she curled into him.

"You mean if Charlotte will let us," he amended with an amused chuckle.

"She'll let us," Blair assured him as her fingers began tracing random circles along his chest and torso, "If I sit down with her woman to woman and tell her how it is, she'll let us."

"Woman to woman," he repeated as he laughed out once more. His urge to kiss her beautiful mouth became overwhelming as he pulled her to him. He swallowed her whimper eagerly as his tongue found entrance into her mouth. His finger wove into the strands of her hair as he deepened their kiss, nearly devouring her as he rolled her under him.

Her hands slid from their place at his chest to his back and up to his shoulders. Her nails dug in lightly, enough to leave temporary marks, but not enough to cut into his skin, not that he would have minded if she had. He already had permanent scars on his back from the repeated blissful abuse he had taken over the years, and he wore them with pride. They were her marks.

"You branded me this morning, Love," he told her when they broke the kiss for air.

She looked at him in confusion as her chest heaved in the way that turned him on so thoroughly as he pointed to the marks she had left on his neck that morning.

"I had to face the board with your marks on me," he told her as she caressed his skin gently with her fingers.

"Marks for courage," she told him as her lips caressed the faint marks, "Did they help?"

"Immensely," he grinned as he devoured her again.

She let out another whimper as he invaded her mouth.

"I love kissing you," she moaned, "There isn't anything that feels better than your lips on mine."

"I can think of a few things," he smirked as his lips trailed down her neck as his tongue dipped into the hallow of her neck before he continued on his journey to the valley between her breasts.

Blair's hands found the crown of his head and held him to her as he continued to lap at her breasts with his tongue. She had to give her husband credit; he had a talented tongue. She used to lay awake at night dreaming of all the things she wanted his tongue to do to her. That was of course before her dreams came true, and he actually did them.

"Where'd you go, Blair?" he inquired as he pulled away when he realized she had zoned out for a moment.

"Just thinking back to my pre-Bass days," she sighed as he kissed her cheek softly, "When I denied myself what it was that I so obviously needed."

"Leaves me shuttering as well," he agreed as his hands continued to caress her marvelous skin as he whispered in her ear. "It seems like a lifetime ago."

"Take me," she cried out as his tongue dipped into her ear.

Never one to deny her, he settled in between her legs, pushing lightly at her entrance. He could feel her moisture and heat. It took every ounce of strength he had to not ram himself deep inside. Tonight wasn't the night for rough.

"Please Chuck," she demanded as she raised her hips so that he slid in just a fraction of an inch, not nearly enough to leave her satisfied. Her movements were his undoing as he surged forward. Blair moaned into his ear as her hands found their rightful place at his shoulder blades once more. Her nails dug in as she held on. He could feel her breaking the skin this time, which spurred him on.

He felt her on the edge. He wasn't ready for her to let go so he slowed down, determined to draw their time together out as long as he could last. They had been rebuilding their stamina after their three-month drought brought on by childbirth had left them frantic with need. His grin turned wicked as a thought entered his head.

Blair saw the familiar twinkle in his eyes. "What's that look?" she inquired as she rose up against him.

"How about we go for the record," he suggested as his lips mashed against hers.

"You sure you're ready for that?" she inquired in her playful voice, "We set that record before we became parents."

"I'm certainly ready to try," he groaned as she rolled her hips the way he loved.

"I'm not sure you can handle it, Daddy," she responded, her voice still teasing him.

"Four, is it not," he prompted her.

"Five," she corrected him, "Remember the island."

"Trying to conceive Charlotte, how could I forget," he grinned.

"Remember to pace yourself," she cautioned him, "You passed out on me that time."

"See you on the other side," his wicked smile returned as he dove into her neck with renewed purpose. Blair closed her eyes and held on as he quickly brought her to her peak using all parts of his anatomy to turn her on, his lips, his hands, and most importantly his favorite appendage, which if forced to choose was also hers.

Blair eyes rolled back as her first orgasm took over. She vaguely heard his groan as he fought his internal war to hold off. He was so conditioned to release with her that it was a difficult conflict to win.

"Sure you're still up for this?" she inquired as she came down from her first high only to feel her second building with equal intensity.

"Shut up and hold on," he growled. In everyday conversation, his words would repulse and turn her off, but in their bedroom they turned her on more than she'd ever admit as her second orgasm rushed through her unexpectedly.

She arched higher off the bed as she clung to him.

"Shit," he hissed as he waged his second battle. He had to pull himself out momentarily. Her convulsions around him were too tempting. She whimpered at the loss of him inside her as her orgasm faded out quicker than she liked.

He was panting for air as he slid inside her warm cavern again. He knew he wasn't going to get the record, but he wasn't ready to admit defeat either. Five of her orgasms before he found his release was a lofty goal even for him, but it was one that he was determined to meet.

"Don't you dare do that again," she warned him as her legs wrapped around him to keep him close.

"Wasn't my best effort," he admitted begrudgingly as he dove towards her lips once more as his hand snaked down her stomach and towards the pleasure point between her legs. The only way this record was falling was if he rushed her. The only way he knew to do that was to work her clitoris with equal attention.

"Chuck!" she cried out. She heard his chuckle of victory as her orgasm drew out. She would have slapped him if she had been able to have a rational thought at the moment. She hated when he got cocky during their bedroom activities.

"That's three," he reminded her, as her eyes were able to refocus on his gorgeous features. Blair took that as a personal challenge to make sure that four was as far as he got. "Ready for four?"

"Are you?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow as her legs wrapped tighter around his body as her hands went to his ass to pull him in deeper.

"Fuck," he cursed.

"You're not ready," she announced as she released her hold on his butt and allowed him a moment to recover. While she wanted him to release, only after he had given her the fourth orgasm, and she wasn't ready yet either.

"Damn it, Wife," he hissed as he bit down roughly on her earlobe, "You're making this impossible."

Her hands found his ass again as she felt herself building towards the inevitable again, her nails digging in to his flesh once more. Just before she lost complete control she clamped down hard on his manhood sending him to his release at the same time as she came.

"Four's not bad," she consoled him as he gasped for breath as he lay against her heaving chest.

"You did that on purpose," he spoke against her bosoms that were bouncing enticingly in front of him.

"Possibly," she chuckled as she ran her fingers through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp.

"Why would you do that?" he gasped, "We were getting so close."

"And you were getting too smug," she told him, "You know I love it when we go for the record, even more so when we break it, but sometimes you get so caught up in the record and just forget this is about us expressing our immeasurable lust and desire for each other. It shouldn't be about boosting your rather large ego."

"Satisfying you has nothing to do with my ego," he growled against her skin, "All I think about when we make love is satisfying your desires and expressing my unyielding devotion to you and our life together."

"So you're saying this doesn't boost your ego at all. Nate doesn't know anything about this personal challenge that we've set up for ourselves," she tried to poke the truth out of him.

"Nathaniel and I talk about our sex lives," he stated as he looked deep into her eyes, "But I would never share something so personal with him. Mostly our talks consist of me living vicariously through him."

"Vicariously?" she prompted him. She hadn't seen the glimmer of mischief in his eyes. She thought he was being serious, and she was letting her famous Waldorf temper rise up to the boiling point.

"Different woman all the time," he grinned. He was attempting to rile her up now. And he could see that it was working. He had to get payback for her ending his quest so abruptly, but he should have known to keep his mouth shut. He didn't as he continued speaking, "Little Chuck Bass may sleep with only one woman, but occasionally he needs to be reminded of what else is out there."

"Little Chuck Bass had better remember his place in this world," Blair scolded him as her hand slid down and cupped his manhood roughly. Chuck winced him pain as her nails dug into him. She had a thing for her nails digging into his body this evening that was turning dangerous. "I can easily end his happy existence right now."

"Blair, that hurts," he winced as her grip around him tightened as his back straightened with the tension her hand was causing.

"Tell me right now that there is no one else out there for Little Chuck Bass," she demanded as she kept her grip firm.

"You know there isn't," he groaned as she finally loosened her grasp. He sighed in relief as he collapsed against her once more. "I was teasing you. Your former lover's pathetic love life bores me. A different woman all the time. Moving from one pointless relationship to the next. Why would I want that? Why would I want anyone other than the beautiful, vivacious, intelligent, sexy, insatiable woman that I have in my bed every night of my life?"

"Remember this moment, Bass," she whispered in his ear as she caressed him gently, taking away the pain she had inflicted moments earlier. "I can make your life immensely happy, or I can end it with a flick of my wrist." She grabbed a hold of him again and gave him a remindful squeeze.

"If I ever forget, you have my permission to end my existence," he told her as she loosened her hold once more and began caressing him again.

"Forgive me?" she inquired as she felt him respond to her touch.

"Always," he assured her as he kissed her lips lightly.

* * *

"I can't believe our daughter slept through all of that," Chuck stated as he slid from the bed to check on Charlotte after they had made love a few more times.

"I can't either," Blair responded as she sat up, bringing the bed sheet up to cover her breasts to remove any temptation he may have.

As Chuck bent over his daughter's crib, he discovered that her eyes were wide open. He began laughing as he picked her up and held her close. "She didn't sleep through it. She just knew not to interrupt."

"Awe," Blair chuckled along with him as she reached out for him to bring their daughter to her.

"Such a good little girl," Chuck whispered in his daughter's ear before he passed her off reluctantly.

"She's going to walk in on us a lot while growing up," Blair realized.

"Probably," he nodded, "It's sort of a right of passage for a child anyways. Didn't you ever walk in on Harold and Eleanor?"

"That's disturbing on so many levels," Blair shuddered at the thought.

"Is that a no?" he sniggered.

"It's disgusting to even think about," Blair shuddered again, "I am fully convinced that my parents had sex one time."

"How adorably unrealistic of you," he chuckled as he kissed her temple as he climbed into bed next to her and Charlotte. "Harold may always have known he was gay, but he was still a man and a committed one at that. I'd be willing to bet that they had a pretty healthy sex life until just before their demise."

"Are you saying you walked in on Bart?" she inquired, trying to change the subject and get the mental images out of her head that were trying to form of her parents.

"Several times," he told her, "With several different women . . . purely on accident of course. My father wasn't really known for keeping it in his pants when there was a beautiful woman around."

"Sounds vaguely familiar," she interrupted.

"I was probably four the first time I remember walking in on him with some random nanny," he continued while ignoring her interrupting remark.

"Did he see you?" she inquired.

"He had to have," he chuckled at the memory, "I stood there and watched the whole thing. It seemed strangely fascinating, even at that age."

"Explains a lot," she rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't it though," he agreed. "I even walked in on him and Lily twice."

"Do I even want to hear those stories?" she cringed. She was raising the distinct possibility that she would never be able to look in her mother-in-law's eyes ever again.

"The first was in his office at Bass," he offered without waiting for her to answer her own question, "It was really the end, so I suppose that doesn't count. They were already redressing."

Blair sighed in relief. That wasn't so bad.

"The second time I most definitely caught them in fligrante delicto," he continued on. "She was bent over the ottoman in her penthouse living room. It was right after they had returned from their honeymoon. He must have surprised her by coming home early from a business trip. I didn't know the old man had it in him to bent in that direction."

"Okay, seriously, stop," Blair warned him, "Does Lily know you saw this?"

"Of course not, a Bass man is discreet. I merely continued to watch as I made my way silently to my bedroom. I had a little business I needed to tend to, but the image of you in such a position took care of that pretty quick," he grinned.

"At least it wasn't the image of your stepmother that you jacked off to," she replied.

"That's disturbing, even for me," it was his turn to cringe, "That's my mother you're talking about."

"Stepmother," she reminded him.

"I would never disrespect Lily in that manner," he assured her.

"Even a horny Chuck Bass has standards," she mused as she caressed his face softly. "Have we been in the position you found them in?"

"Several times," he assured her, "There aren't many positions we haven't found ourselves in, and I must say the reality of that position is so much better than the fantasy."

"You'll have to remind me," she requested as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Certainly not while you're holding Charlotte," he chuckled as he caught his daughter looked at the two of them making out before her eyes. "You might drop her."

**TBC . . .**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**So many hits, so few reviews. Are any of you enjoying this? Do I need to wrap this up?**

"Where's Charlotte?" Blair inquired as she stepped into the living room upon returning from a marathon shopping adventure with Serena. She found her husband sitting on the living room floor. Chuck had been home for nearly a month now. Far from bored, he loved each day more than the last.

Chuck pointed towards their daughter who was hiding behind the ottoman a few yards away.

"Is she crawling?" Blair inquired as she knelt next to him to see her daughter on all fours and her husband looking on with a proud smile.

"She just figured it out a few moments ago," he told her as her arms came around his shoulders. He could see she had proud tears developing in her eyes. "I was going to call you."

Charlotte turned herself around and began crawling back towards her parents. When she was close enough Blair picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"You know what this means, we have to start baby proofing the house," Blair told Charlotte as she began tickling her stomach.

"Already a step ahead of you," Chuck told her as he stood from his spot on the floor and escorted her to his office where he had been stocking up on the necessary baby proofing supplies people had been telling them they would need when Charlotte started crawling. She'd been on the crawling track for a few weeks, so he knew he had to get started.

"You're getting so big, Little Girl," Blair told Charlotte as she kissed her cheek.

"She's going to be walking and talking before we know it," Chuck told her, "And as soon as she starts talking, if she's anything like you, we won't be able to get her to stop."

"Watch yourself, Bass," Blair scowled at him.

"You know I love to listen to your beautiful voice," he told her seductively as he stepped in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Especially when it's calling out my name in the throes of passion."

As he pulled her tight against him, Blair used his close proximity to elbow him in the gut.

"One track mind," she told him as she began sifting through the necessary supplies with her free hand as she kept Charlotte secure against her hip with the other.

"Two track mind," he amended, "You and Charlotte."

"Have I mentioned how much I love your two tracked mind today?" Blair inquired as he knelt next to her, taking Charlotte out of her hands.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice," he grinned as she leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you," she told him again.

"I love you," he responded automatically.

Charlotte squealed out as she did when she felt she was being ignored.

"We love you too," Chuck added as he kissed Charlotte's chubby cheek.

"How is her fever?" Blair inquired as she pressed her lips to Charlotte's forehead to check how warm she felt. She had been suffering through her second ear infection in as many months. Doctor Coffey was becoming concerned. There was becoming a strong possibility that they were going to need to go with a more aggressive treatment option. She was already recommending that they met with an ENT (ears, nose, and throat) specialist.

"It's gone down," he sighed, "I spoke with Doctor Coffey this morning after you left. She faxed over that list of ENT specialists that she promised us."

"Your PI checking them out?" she inquired.

"As we speak," he nodded.

"Poor Charlotte," Blair sighed. She could sense the pain that Charlotte was in, but because she was such a happy child she wouldn't let anyone see it. She merely got quiet and pulled at her ear, crying out only when the pain became unbearable.

"My PI should be getting back to me soon. I don't think we should wait on this. As soon as we have the background checks, we need to decide whom to trust our daughter's care to," he told her.

"Agreed," Blair nodded.

"I'm calling him right now," Chuck stated as he pulled his phone from his pocket, "Remind him what his priority needs to be."

Just as he was scrolling through his contacts, his phone rang.

"Perfect timing," Chuck spoke to his private investigator. Blair took Charlotte out of his arms and told him silently that she was putting Charlotte down for her nap as he listened intently to what his private investigator was telling him. He nodded, accepted the kiss she leaned in to give him all while not missing a word he was being told.

"Such the multi-tasker your father is," Blair told her daughter as she set her down in her crib. Charlotte fussed as she held out her arms to Blair. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to be put in her crib. Blair watched her fuss for only a few moments before she caved and picked her up. She was usually better about not giving in to Charlotte's fussing as her weak husband, but with Charlotte being as sick as she had been, she couldn't help it. Her maternal instincts won out as she cradled her little girl in her arms.

"Good news," Chuck announced as he entered their bedroom after Charlotte had been napping for over thirty minutes, the room they now spent most of their time in since he'd started his leave of absence. "The top pediatric ENT specialist is right here in New York. We have an appointment first thing tomorrow morning."

"You checked with Doctor Coffey before you made this appointment, right?" Blair inquired.

"Of course," he rolled his eyes. As if he would take the slightest chance with his daughter's health. "She highly recommends Doctor Terrance. She said he was the best she knew of and that she only provided the full list because that is what we asked her to do. She had already taken the liberty of scheduling Charlotte's appointment for tomorrow morning."

"Have to love a doctor that can anticipate the moves of Chuck Bass," Blair smirked.

"I'm going to make this woman Chief of Staff with all of the donations that I make to the hospital on her behalf," he grinned.

"And she's worth every penny of it," Blair added as he lay out on the bed and pulled her and Charlotte into him. They had been up late with Charlotte the previous evening. They all could use the nap.

* * *

Doctor Coffey insisted on being a part of Charlotte's exam with the specialist the next morning for which Blair and Chuck were grateful. While Doctor Terrance was highly recommended in his field, he tended to use words well beyond even Blair and Chuck's considerably elevated heads. Doctor Coffey was able to translate their options.

"There are a few options to consider," Doctor Coffey stated, "The first is that we just continue to treat the symptoms and hope that as Charlotte's ears develop further the problem goes away."

"Essentially do nothing. Let my daughter suffer through infection after infection and hope that it just eventually goes away. . . Next option," he demanded. Doing nothing wasn't even an option.

"Surgery," Doctor Coffey responded, "Doctor Terrance would cut a small hole into Charlotte's ear drum and place a tube in her ear to drain the excess fluid that continues to build. The tube would then say in place and help prevent further infections from occurring."

"That sounds painful," Chuck winced.

"It's relatively painless," Doctor Coffey assured them, "Charlotte would be put under during the procedure, and the after effects of the procedure are fairly mild. After six months to a year, the tube will fall out on its own and the ear drum will heal itself."

"Could this surgery damage Charlotte's hearing?" Blair inquired as Charlotte grabbed at her finger, playing with her engagement ring as she seemed to like doing lately. She liked the way the light reflected off the stone.

"It's a very rare complication. It's actually more likely that Charlotte's hearing could be damaged if the infections continue to occur without proper treatment," Doctor Terrance chimed in.

"Any other options?" Chuck inquired. He didn't like the idea of Charlotte having surgery at such a young age.

"There is another surgery that we could try, but we try to avoid this option at all costs, especially for someone so young. We could remove her tonsils and adenoids," Doctor Terrance offered.

That triggered something that Chuck remembered from his childhood. He was suddenly wondering if his tonsil removal had more relevance than he first thought. He'd need to call his PI once more and have him pour through his medical records with more precision. "What does removing the tonsils and adenoids do to help with ear infections?"

"We have found in many cases that tonsil and adenoid infections actually lead to an increase in ear infections. When the tonsils and ademoids are inflamed it doesn't allow the fluid in the ears to drain properly," Doctor Terrance explained, "By removing these, it would stop the fluid build up that can be the problem. This option is usually only performed after other treatment options have proven to be unsuccessful."

"So you'd recommend placing this tube in my daughter's ear," Chuck concluded.

"As would I, Mister Bass," Doctor Coffey chimed in.

"You're saying that if this was your child, you would recommend this course of action," Chuck demanded that Doctor Coffey answer.

"Yes," Doctor Coffey stated without hesitation or flinching.

"And we're sure that these aggressive options are necessary," Blair inquired, "This is only Charlotte's second infection. The first pediatrician we had said that we were a ways off from having to take these more aggressive steps."

"It is only her second infection that she's been able to tell us about," Doctor Coffey spoke gently, "It is possible that she has had them before, but was too young to let us know there was a problem."

"We would have seen the problem," Blair insisted as her eyes began to tear, "Certainly we would have seen it. We're her parents."

"Mrs. Bass, in no way is this a reflection on your parenting skills," Doctor Coffey assured her, "And it is possible that these have been her only two infections. But considering we cannot be a hundred percent certain, and the fact that she has had two infections in less than two months makes these aggressive steps necessary."

"Can Blair and I have a few minutes to talk this over?" Chuck requested.

"Certainly," Doctor Coffey assured him.

"And are there any other options that we should be aware of?" Chuck inquired.

"None that I would recommend," Doctor Terrance stated.

"We'll leave the two of you to talk things over," Doctor Coffey stated as she followed Doctor Terrance out of the room.

"What do we do?" Blair inquired as she looked at him with panicked eyes. "Do we need a second opinion?"

"Doctor Coffey is the second opinion. I trust her," Chuck assured Blair, "And I think we can agree that the adenoid and tonsil removal is out. Not only is she extremely young for that procedure, but that seems like the last course of action."

"Agreed," Blair nodded as she rocked Charlotte back and forth in her arms as she started to cry, mostly in reaction to Blair's agitated state.

"So we need to decide if we just treat the symptoms and let this keep occurring or let them put this tube in her ears," Chuck stated as he looked at the diagram Doctor Coffey and Doctor Terrance had used to explain the procedure.

"Which do you think?" Blair inquired as she stared at the diagrams with him.

"I don't like the idea of doing nothing. I hate the idea of putting Charlotte through this repeated pain and then have something happen down the road if this doesn't go away or god forbid gets worse," he sighed as he looked at Charlotte who was looking back at him with her doe eyes nice and wide. "As much as I hate the idea of surgery, this sounds like the better of the two options."

"I agree," Blair nodded, "But we can be sure this is going to work? What if we do this surgery and the infections keep happening anyways? What if she loses her hearing?"

"Nobody is talking about that," Chuck told her, "Doctor Terrance said there is a better chance of permanent damage if we do nothing.

"She's not even a year old, Chuck," Blair sobbed.

"I know," he whispered as he stepped in close to hold her against him, "I know this is hard, but we have to set aside the emotions and go with what we think is best for her. My brain tells me it's this surgery. Perhaps more importantly, my heart is telling me it's this surgery."

"Then we do the surgery," Blair stated as she kissed Charlotte's forehead.

"We do the surgery," he agreed as he kissed his wife's forehead, "As soon as possible." She nodded against his lips.

Charlotte reached out and wiped at Blair's face as if she was trying to remove Blair's tears.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," Blair assured her as she kissed each of the infant's hands, "We're going to see to it that you get all better."

Chuck called the doctors back into the room and told them their decision. Doctor Terrance wasted no time in setting up the necessary tests that needed to be performed. After going over all of the preoperative instructions and discussing the potential risks of the surgery, Charlotte's surgery was scheduled for a week later.

**TBC. . .**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**Thank you again to those who reviewed. Your assurances of enjoyment and urging me to continue keep this story rolling. I sincerely appreciate them.**

Blair and Chuck spoiled their little girl rotten in the days that led up to the ear procedure, rarely leaving her out of their sight.

The night before her surgery, Chuck sat Charlotte down in his lap on their bed and explained what was going to happen the next day.

"Okay, listen up, Sweetheart," he began as Blair tucked in next to him, "Tomorrow, you, Mommy, and I are going to the hospital because the nice doctors from last week need to fix your ears . . . not that there is anything wrong with them. You have gorgeous ears just like your mother."

"Chuck, you're getting off track," Blair stopped him.

"You're right," he conceded as he took a deep breath to gather his thoughts, "The point is we are trying to fix what is causing you so much pain. So, tomorrow we're taking you to the hospital. The doctors are going to give you something to make you sleepy. While you're asleep the doctor is going to cut open your ear just a tiny bit, drain all the yucky fluid out, and then put a little tube in your ear. I promise, Sweetheart, that you won't feel a thing. When you wake up, Mommy and I are going to be right there. You might get a little queasy, and it's okay if you get sick. After the doctors are sure that you're okay, we get to take you home and spoil you rotten, more so than you already are."

Charlotte merely looked up at them with her beautiful eyes.

"To prepare for tomorrow, the doctors told us you can bring either a toy or a blanket with you, so you need to let us know which you want. Naturally, your mother and I had a minor disagreement about what your preference would be, so we are leaving it completely up to you," Chuck told her as he set her on their bed so that she could see the five items they had narrowed her selection down to. There was a pink blanket, a tiny teddy bear, a platinum rattle, a teddy bear shaped blanket, and a stuffed doll.

Chuck set her up to crawl and then released her. They watched her scan the selections. Then as fast as she could go, which wasn't fast as she was still learning, she went straight to Chuck's first choice, the tiny teddy bear.

"Of course she picked the bear," Blair sighed as she threw her hands up in exasperation. "You probably put your cologne on it to entice her because she associates that scent with you, her favorite person."

"I resent the insinuation that trickery was involved," he scoffed playfully as he picked Charlotte up with the bear in her hands and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm not insinuated; I'm flat out saying it. You cheated," she insisted.

"Mommy is a sore loser," Chuck told Charlotte as he laughed out, "This won't be the last time you see this side of her, I assure you, but we still love her anyways."

"I want to smell that bear," she insisted as she held out her hand.

Charlotte had the teddy bear held tightly in her little hands, the corner of one ear in her mouth.

"I'm not taking the bear away from her," he insisted as he kissed Charlotte's head again, "If you insist on confirming your erroneous suspicions, you have to be the bad guy here."

She rolled her eyes and bent close to Charlotte and gave the bear a small tug. Charlotte tugged back as if to tell her mother to keep her hands off. Blair tugged again. Charlotte screeched at her mother and pulled the bear back to her again.

"It's not worth it," Blair announced as she backed away.

As he picked up the rest of the toys, he smelt a familiar scent on Charlotte's pink blanket, Blair's first choice.

"Talk about trickery," he exclaimed as he threw the blanket in Blair's face, "It was you that used my cologne."

"Can you blame me for trying to tip the odds in my favor?" she responded innocently.

"Then accusing me," he chuckled, "Dirty trick, Bass."

"Is it official?" she smirked devilishly, "Are my tricks finally worthy of the Bass name?"

"They've always been worthy of the Bass name. You are in every way my equal," he assured as he kissed her soundly on the lips.

That night was the first and only night that Charlotte was allowed to sleep with her parents in their bed. She had been fussy in her crib and refused to fall asleep, as if she knew what tomorrow would bring, so her parents made the decision that she could lay on Chuck's chest merely so that she would get some sleep.

The next morning, Charlotte was well rested and ready to face the day, while Chuck could barely get out of bed. His muscles were sore from not moving all night long. Blair had to lift Charlotte off of him and then roll him out of bed. He groaned as he made his way to the bathroom to shower, giving Blair license for the rest of the day to refer to him as an old man.

As soon as Charlotte was brought into the hospital for her procedure, she began screaming at the top of her lungs. Even Chuck was powerless to calm her down.

"Let me try," Blair insisted as tears rolled down her cheeks. She brushed them away as she took Charlotte into her arms. She held her tight against her chest as she rocked her back and forth while whispered reassuring words into Charlotte's ear. After several more minutes of torture, the decibel level of Charlotte's cries gradually came down and then she finally settled down. "How about that, I am good for something," Blair sighed in relief, "Sometimes you really do just need a mother's touch."

Chuck kissed both of their foreheads as the nurse came in to get the pre-op procedures started. The hospital staff let Blair stay with Charlotte all the way through until the anesthesia had taken affect, even giving her a pair of scrubs to change into. Once Charlotte had fallen asleep with the teddy bear held tightly in her tiny little hand, Blair was escorted out of the pre-op room.

When Blair appeared in the waiting room, the worried pacing that Chuck had been doing stopped as they took seats next to each other and held hands. They had Charlotte's favorite pink blanket entwined in their hands that Chuck had been holding since Blair and Charlotte had disappeared. Neither spoke as they fought through the awful thoughts that kept going through their heads.

What had been a twenty-minute procedure turned into thirty-three minutes of excruciating torture on the young parents. While they knew their family would have been there to support them had they asked, they were purposely waiting to tell everyone about Charlotte's procedure until it had been successful. Their family would have insisted on be there for Charlotte and Blair and Chuck knew they needed to go through this together. Ultimately, it would make them stronger partners and better parents.

"Mister and Mrs. Bass," Doctor Coffey spoke as she entered the waiting room.

"Finally," Chuck and Blair spoke in unison as they rose from their chairs simultaneously. Blair took the blanket and begun twisting it in her hands.

"Charlotte is out of surgery, and everything went perfectly," the young doctor informed them. They both took a huge breath and released it slowly, "She's being moved into recovery right now and you can be with her in a few minutes."

"What took so long?" Chuck snapped as he looked at his watch, "You said it was a twenty minute procedure."

"Doctor Terrance took his time with Charlotte," she told them as she gave them an reassuring smile, "He wanted to be extra careful because with Charlotte's age all procedures are a little more delicate."

"But she's fine," Blair needed to hear the words again as she continued to wring out Charlotte's blanket.

A nurse approached the trio and nodded to Doctor Coffey.

"You can see for yourself," she told the parents as she gave them another soft smile, "Let's follow Nurse Phillips."

As they approached the private recovery room that Chuck had insisted on, the nurse pushed the door open and held it for the pair as they rushed in. Charlotte was sound asleep in an impersonal, sterile, hospital crib with her teddy bear lying at her side. Chuck quickly reached out and wrapped Charlotte's fingers around the bear as Blair bent in to kiss her forehead gently before she perched herself in the chair next to Charlotte's bed.

"She's going to sleep for probably an hour or so," Doctor Coffey told them, "As soon as she starts waking, notify Nurse Phillips immediately. If she starts to get sick, turn her on her side so that she doesn't choke."

Blair nodded as Doctor Coffey turned to leave them alone.

"Doctor Coffey," Chuck called out to halt the doctor's exit, "We realize being involved in this surgery isn't part of your normal duties as Charlotte's pediatrician. Blair and I appreciate you being there for Charlotte during her surgery, and for reassuring us after."

"Anything for Charlotte," Doctor Coffey assured him. "I have a few appointments today, but I'll be back to check on her before she is discharged. If you need anything, have the nursing staff page me immediately. I gave them my number."

"Thank you again," Chuck spoke as Doctor Coffey left.

"Times like this make me realize how small and fragile she still is," Blair spoke once they were left alone with Charlotte. She was caressing Charlotte's free hand with her fingers while clutching Charlotte's blanket in her other hand. "All I want to do right now is pick her up and hold her in my arms, but I know I can't and it is tearing me apart."

"It's just until she wakes up," he assured her as he put his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently as the tears began streaming down Blair's cheeks.

"Did we do the right thing? . . . Did we make the right decision?" she asked him as she turned to look into his eyes.

"We can't know for sure yet, but I believe we did," he spoke as he lifted her slightly off her seat so that he could sit and have her in his lap.

"I think we did too," Blair agreed as she pushed her tears away from her face. "I love this little girl so much."

"I know you do," he assured her as he kissed her cheek gently as he reached out to take Blair's hand that had Charlotte's wrapped in hers, "And she knows you do."

Blair continued to cry softly on his shoulder as they waited for Charlotte to wake up. It was the longest forty-five minutes of their life.

"Hi, Angel," Blair spoke when Charlotte's eyes first fluttered open. Charlotte smiled slightly at the sight of her mother and then began searching for her father. "Daddy's right here." Blair moved slightly off Chuck so that he could get into Charlotte's line of sight.

"There's those beautiful brown eyes," Chuck whispered as he kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to get the nurse," Blair told him as she dashed out of the room quickly.

"You're going to be all better real soon," Chuck told her as she continued to squeeze his finger tightly in her little fist while clutching onto her teddy bear in the other hand.

The nurse came in with Blair rather quickly with a terrified look on her face that told him his wife hand made some sort of demand to get them to move quick enough for her liking. After doing a quick exam, she assured Blair and Chuck that Charlotte was doing as well as expected.

"Can I hold her yet?" Blair inquired as she clutched at her chest, the pink blanket still firmly in her grasp. The pain in her heart was becoming unbearable with each minute that passed that she wasn't able to hold her little girl.

"Absolutely," the nurse assured her, "I'll be back in about a half hour to check on her. Wait about twenty minutes, and then try to get her to eat something. She still takes to the bottle, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Blair nodded as she handed over the blanket to Chuck quickly before she picked up Charlotte carefully and held her close. Chuck could see the relief washing over Blair's features, "We brought one with us."

"See if you can get her to take it, but don't be surprised if she doesn't keep it down. Anesthesia can make patients a little queasy," the nurse told them.

Blair and Chuck both nodded as the nurse left.

"Feel better," he inquired as he stood to allow Blair to sit down with Charlotte.

"Much," she sighed in relief as Chuck covered Charlotte with the blanket in his hands.

As expected, Charlotte spit up her first attempt at food after surgery, and then later her second. Once the formula finally stayed down for thirty minutes, Doctor Coffey was able to get the family discharged so they could head home. Blair hadn't put Charlotte down since she first picked her up. She wouldn't even hand her daughter to Chuck. Even though he was nearly as desperate to hold Charlotte as Blair had been, he didn't force the issue. He would wait patiently. It was enough for him to see Charlotte tucked in safely with her mother.

Charlotte slept through most of the day due to the lingering affects of the anesthesia mostly in the arms of Blair. Not able to ignore the cramping in her arms any longer due to the unmoving muscles, she finally relented and handed Charlotte over to Chuck, but she didn't go far. She hovered over Chuck and Charlotte in an almost predatory way.

"I have held our daughter before, Blair," he reminded her as she reached out to adjust his arms when she felt that he was holding her incorrectly.

"I know," she responded defensively as she fidgeted nervously with her hands as she took a small step away, "It's just that you should hold her head up a little higher right now."

"She's fine," he assured his suddenly neurotic wife, "Her head is at an acceptable angle. I'm not holding her too tight. My grip is firm enough that I won't drop her. Sit down for a second and relax. You're going Rottweiler on me."

"Are you referring to me as a dog?" she pouted as she took a seat.

"You're getting overly territorial on me," he told her as he felt the need to explain his remark, "You know I will do nothing to put Charlotte's health in any danger."

"I know," she conceded, "But I can't help it. It's my motherly instincts kicking in."

"My fatherly instinct are just as finely tuned," he assured her.

"I'm sorry," she responded, "You're right. I've monopolized her for most of the day. This was just as hard for you as it was for me."

"Don't ever apologize for being protective of our daughter," he told her, "Just remember, I want the same things you do for her, and I am just as protective and neurotic as you are about her."

"You're right," Blair agreed.

"I'm sorry for comparing you to a dog," he offered. The apology wasn't necessary, but he needed to make it anyways.

"It's okay," she shrugged off his earlier comment, "You were absolutely right."

"If I'm lucky, do you think I can get you to hump my leg later," he teased suggestively.

Blair reflexively slapped him upside the head.

"I guess not," he told a sleeping Charlotte.

**TBC . . .**

**Reviews will keep this story rolling. I love feedback.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**I'm not sure how much further I will be taking this story. I might hit the major milestones of Charlotte's first year and then wrap this up, but I'd love to hear what all of you think. **

Blair came to bed late that evening. She had been hovering over Charlotte's crib since they put her to bed, waiting for any possible cue that Charlotte was in pain. When she didn't curl in next to her husband as she usually did, Chuck rolled towards her to see if she was okay, only to find Charlotte lying in bed with them.

"Blair," he scolded her, as he caressed Charlotte's stomach softly, "She needs to sleep in her crib."

"Not tonight," Blair shook her head.

"Blair, she's fine," he assured her, "She hasn't cried out or pulled at her ear all day. She hasn't even been fussy. She ate all of her dinner and kept it down all night."

"I won't hear her if she cries out," Blair rationalized, "I can sleep through a tornado. You said so yourself. I won't know to go to her if she needs me."

"We both know you won't be sleeping so soundly tonight that you won't hear her," he sighed, "But even if you did manage to fall asleep, you know I'll hear her, and I'll go to her."

"What if she starts choking in her sleep? She wouldn't be able to make a sound," Blair replied, her voice sounding frantic and desperate.

"She'd make a sound," he assured her, "And I'd hear it."

"Please, Chuck, don't make me do this," she pleaded with him, "I can't be separated from her tonight."

"You're going Rottweiler again," he told her, "And this isn't good for Charlotte. She's more comfortable in her own bed."

"We let her sleep with us last night," she rationalized as tears pooled in her eyes as she realized that Chuck wasn't letting her have her way.

"Because she couldn't fall asleep any other way," he told her as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "She's sound asleep already, and if we let her sleep with us again, this could start a pattern which can be tough to break. It's not healthy for Charlotte to sleep with us."

"This is about sex, isn't it," she hissed, "You're worried that if we let Charlotte start sleeping with us, she'll disturb our sex life."

"This has nothing to do with our sex life," he defensively insisted, "I would never put our sex life over the well being of our daughter. You know that. I'm thinking of what is best for Charlotte. You would be agreeing with me if your motherly instincts weren't on overdrive right now."

Blair began sobbing as she scooped Charlotte up and moved them both to the chair next to Charlotte's crib. She was determined to not leave Charlotte alone that evening, even if she had to sleep sitting up.

"Blair," he spoke softly as he slid from their bed and went to kneel next to his family.

"Stay away," Blair stated as she kicked out her foot when she felt he was getting too close.

"Blair," he repeated as he caught her foot in his hands and held it firm. Her lip was quivering with anger and rage that she couldn't express. She wanted to start screaming and hitting her husband, but it would wake Charlotte.

"If you love me at all, you leave us alone tonight," Blair growled deeply as she tried to free her foot.

"I love you and Charlotte more than anything," he responded calmly as he caressed the soft skin of the foot in his hands, "We both want the same thing here. We want Charlotte to grow up being the happiest and healthiest child she can be. I know how hard Charlotte's surgery was on you today. I know you didn't breath the entire time she was being operated on because I didn't either. I saw on your face how relieved you were when you were finally allowed to hold her after she woke up from the anesthesia. I understand where you're coming from, but we have to be reasonable here. We cannot hold her in our arms and protect her from the world for the rest of her life.

"She's going to fall and get hurt. She's going to scrap her knees. She's going to be disappointed and have her heart broken. We cannot stop any of that. What we can do is be there for her. We can pick her up. We can clean up her knees. We can reassure her and try to mend her broken heart. We can wipe the tears out of her eyes and promise her that we'll always be there for her when she needs us."

"Right now she needs us," Blair insisted.

"Right now you need her," he amended. "You need to reassure yourself that you are a good mother to her. You need to know that you aren't doing what Eleanor did to you. And I'm going to do reassure you of that. You are what Charlotte needed today in the hospital. I am always the one that is able to get her to settle down, but not today. Today she needed you, and only you. What is more important is that you were there for her. You held her close until she settled down. You were at her side as they wheeled her tiny little body to surgery. You stayed with her until her doctors had to chase you away. Then you were right there when she woke up. You were the first thing that she saw. You were the first thing she felt, and you haven't left her side since. Eleanor wouldn't have done these things. She may have been in the waiting room. She may have sat with you as you came out of the anesthesia, but that probably would have been it. As soon as you would have been released, she would have gone back to her own life and left you to be tended to by Dorota. You aren't your mother, Blair. Your Charlotte's mother, and if she had a voice to tell you so, she'd tell you that you are doing a fantastic job with her."

Blair sniffled as his words began to soak in.

Chuck moved slowly as he stood up and gathered Charlotte into his arms and returned her to her crib. He then pulled Blair to her feet and held her close as she sob against his bare chest. He caressed her silk covered back with his hand as he whispered reassuring words in her ear.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled against his chest as she clung to him.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he assured her as his arms tightened around her waist, "All you're guilty of right now is loving our daughter. If that's a crime, then we're both guilty."

She nodded as she continued to hold onto him for dear life.

"Let's slide Charlotte's crib right up next to our bed. That way she can still sleep in her bed, but she can be close enough for you to hear her if she needs you," he offered up a compromise. He felt her nod against him. He reluctantly released his wife and then very carefully grabbed a hold of Charlotte's crib and dragged it towards their bed being careful that he didn't wake their sleeping angel.

"She's such a beautiful child," Blair stated as her eyes fixated on Charlotte once she settled into bed. Rather than curl up next to her husband as she usually did, he was curled up behind her so they could both watch Charlotte sleep.

"Of course she is," he spoke softly into her ear before he placed a whispered kiss against her lobe, "She looks like you."

"Do you want more children?" she inquired curiously. He'd made casual mention of it a few times, but they had never discussed it in much detail.

"I've already told you I did," he reminded her, "Charlotte deserves at least one sibling to torture. You and I missed out on so much by not having siblings. I don't want Charlotte to miss that."

"How long are you wanting to wait before we start trying again?" she inquired.

"We should wait at least until Charlotte is a year old," he told her.

"That's not all that far away," she reminded him, "Are you ready to go through pregnancy and childbirth again?"

"Pregnancy I didn't mind all that much. That was more uncomfortable for you, especially towards the end, but childbirth still scares the hell out of me," he admitted. "I don't see much changing that. We could go through it ten times, and I'm sure I'd still be terrified each time."

"We're not going through that ten times, are we," she gasped.

"No," he chuckled, "I don't see us having ten children. Two, possibly three, is all I see for us."

"I agree," she sighed. Her thoughts drifted to how she could have gotten so lucky to marry a man that was on the same wavelength as her about all the important issues in a marriage. All the things that she wanted were the same that he wanted, and they seemed to anticipate each other's thoughts, needs, and desires. They had never fought about those things typical of newlyweds. In fact, they rarely fought at all, and when they did it was more so they could make up then anything of actual importance.

The disagreement about Charlotte that evening had been different. While intellectually, she knew that his point was correct about Charlotte needing to sleep in her own bed. Emotionally, she couldn't bring herself to concede to him. Today had been the first real crisis they had faced as parents and it shook her in ways she had never expected.

"You okay, Sweetheart?" he inquired as he felt her tense in his arms slightly.

"Not really," she admitted, "Charlotte's illness has really affected me. We're lucky in that it's something minor. In the grand scheme of things, it would have been something so much worse than reoccurring ear infections. I don't know how I would be able to get through something so much worse. Just a simple ear surgery left me nearly paralyzed. How do parents find the strength to face worse?"

"I don't know," he replied. His answer wasn't what she wanted to hear. He always had the answers when she didn't. The fact that he didn't when she didn't, unnerved her. "I guess, parents just find a way. We'd find a way."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Blair announced as she snuggled herself into him even further, "I want to talk about our next child. I want you and I to come to some sort of agreement."

"Do you want us to pick a date, like we did for our wedding?" he chuckled, "We get out our day planners and decide on a day in which we'll start trying to create a sibling for Charlotte."

"You make it out to sound like choosing our wedding date was such a chore. It took us five minutes to make that decision," she replied, "You asked me now long I needed to make the arrangements. I told you. We picked our date, and that was the end of it."

"So we should do that again," he rationalized, "I said I think we should wait until Charlotte is at least a year old. She's almost eight and a half months. You said you were going to wait until she was a year old before you went back to work. If you want to do that, then we'll probably have to put off any baby making plans for a little while. I'm not sure your company would appreciate you leaving for another year long absence a mere nine months after you returned from the last one."

"You have a point," she sighed, "And I do like my job. I don't know if I could give it all up, but at the same time, I don't know how I'm going to leave Charlotte."

"I'm not going to lie, it's tough to get up each morning and kiss her goodbye," he admitted, "But it was always a comfort to me to know that you were with her. So I'm sure it will be as much of a comfort for you knowing that I'll be with her."

"Will you?" she inquired.

"I don't see myself returning to work anytime soon. Eugenia has offered to keep an eye on her during board meetings when I have to go into the office," he stated as his fingers began to rub circles against her abdomen. She couldn't tell if he was doing subconsciously because of the conversation that they were having, but it felt heavenly.

"How about we wait six months from today to talk about adding to our family," she replied as she began replicating his finger movements with her own fingers running along his forearm, "Charlotte will be over a year old, and I will have returned to work and will be getting back into the swing of things."

"Deal," he agreed.

"Do you want a boy or girl the next time," Blair inquired as she continued to rub his arms.

"It honestly doesn't matter to me this time," he responded, "I wanted a miniature version of you the first time, and I've got that in Charlotte. Anything else after that is a bonus."

"You want a son," she concluded.

"I'll be happy with either," he assured her, "A son would keep the balance of powers in the family even, and it would be nice to do the things with my son that my father didn't do with me, but I wouldn't be crushed by another girl. The only requirements that I have are a healthy child and wife."

"Well, I want a son. He has to have your eyes, your devilish grin, and your chiseled features," she demanded.

"Basically, you want a clone of me," he teased her, "And do you realize how dangerous that could be? A miniature Chuck Bass."

"I want him to look like you, not act as reckless and out of control as you. Our son would be the perfect gentleman," Blair stated definitely.

"Just as our little angel will be a perfect little angel, not the spoiled little brat you were," he chuckled. He knew his response was going to earn himself a smack in the chest, but he couldn't resist. She didn't disappoint.

"Do you think it's even possible for us to raise perfect children like we're describing?" she mused, "We don't have much to go on."

"You're right," he agreed, "But we do have plenty of examples of what not to do. Nate, Serena, Jenny, Eric, you . . . me. We could fill several sets of encyclopedias with our dysfunctional upbringings. Of all of us, Humphrey had the best shot. Maybe Brooklyn is the way to go."

"Forget it," Blair replied, "I'm not leaving our penthouse apartment."

"In any case, we just need to look at what our role models did for us, and perhaps do the exact opposite," he suggested.

"You make a good point," Blair stated.

"Get some sleep," he whispered into her ear, "Charlotte is perfectly fine."

"I can only promise that I'll try," she replied.

"That's all I can ask," he replied as he felt her settling further into his embrace, "I love you."

"I love you too," she mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed. Chuck smiled when he realized that she was able to fall into a peaceful sleep.

**TBC. . .**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

**I've decided to continue on with this story. I'm not sure what direction it will take or how many more chapters it will be, but I think it will go through at least Charlotte's first year. We'll see how it goes. As always, let me know what you think.**

"Go to mommy," Chuck encouraged Charlotte as he held her hands high over her head as Charlotte tried to take her first tentative assisted steps. Blair was sitting several feet away with her arms outstretched.

"Come on, Angel," Blair encouraged.

Charlotte had been crawling around like a cat for weeks, and had starting standing next to various pieces of furniture. She had been looking like she wanted to move but couldn't figure out a way go.

After a few steps, Chuck risked letting Charlotte's hands go. As soon as he released her, Charlotte stopped her attempt at moving and plopped herself down on her diapered rump. She glared at her father and let him know that she wasn't going any further without help.

As soon as Chuck came up behind her, she latched onto his trousers and pulled herself up to her feet. With her daddy holding her hands once more, she resumed her journey towards her mother once more. It was slow going. She would pause for moments on end as she appeared to be contemplating whether or not to take another step, but Chuck and Blair were always ready with their encouragement when they thought she was about ready to give up.

Finally Charlotte was within arm's reach of Blair as she grabbed a hold of her and raised her up over her head as the parents laughed with pride.

"You are growing too fast," Blair announced as she lowered Charlotte enough so she could kiss her exposed stomach. Charlotte began giggling as her mother began to gnaw gently on the flesh. Blair rocked so that she was flat on her back as Charlotte came to rest on her chest.

Chuck watched the interaction as he slid to the floor next to them.

"Her balance is getting better," Blair stated as she looked at Chuck.

He nodded in agreement. It had been a struggle for Charlotte after her surgery to maintain her balance. It had been an unexpected complication. She had often toppled over in her attempt to stand in the beginning, which had heartbreaking results on occasion, as she tended to fall face first. One time she managed to give herself a bloody nose. In the past week, she had been getting the hang of the balance game so that her parents felt it was a good time to see if she was ready to walk.

"Did you know that today is the three month anniversary of your last day of work?" Blair inquired as she passed Charlotte to her daddy.

"Three months of bliss," he nodded to let her know he was well aware, "Not only do I get to spend the day with my little girl, but also her beautiful mother. Life is good."

"It would be better if Charlotte started talking," Blair stated as she got Charlotte's attention and began repeating "Mama" over and over again.

"We both know 'Dada' is going to be her first word," he chuckled.

"Only because you spend about an hour each day repeating the word over and over," Blair laughed as she threw her arm around his stomach as she snuggled closer to both him and Charlotte.

"It's not an hour," he laughed, "Charlotte's attention span is not nearly that long."

"You probably whisper it to her each night as you read to put her to sleep," she rolled her eyes.

"What time are Nate and Vanessa coming over to watch Charlotte?" Chuck inquired in an attempt to change to subject. He wasn't going to confirm Blair's suspicions even though her thought was partially true.

"A few hours," Blair replied as she looked at his wrist.

"Tell me again why we agreed to go to this event, but Nate managed to wiggle himself out," he demanded.

"Because Lily asked you to go, and you don't say no to Lily," she reminded him.

"Have you noticed that my life is full of women that I cannot say no to," he mused, "You, Lily, Charlotte . . . Eugenia still has her way with me. Serena is learning to work me over. Did you give lessons?"

"You're just turning into a big softy," she teased as she rubbed his chest affectionately.

"I blame you," he replied, "Falling in love with you did this to me. I used to be a ruthless deviant with no moral compass and no concern for anyone else's feelings. Now look at me, you and Charlotte can reduce me to tears whenever you choose."

"And you'll never trade any of your old life for what you have now," she added with a knowing smile.

"Never," he agreed as he kissed her passionately. He pulled away abruptly. "How much time do we have before you need to start getting ready for the gala?"

"Enough time to put Charlotte down for her nap and to squeeze in a little quality us time," Blair assured him.

"Come on, Little Girl, it's time for your nap," Chuck told Charlotte as both he and Blair rose to their feet quickly. Charlotte knew exactly what he was referencing as he made a beeline for her bedroom. "You know the drill, Sweetheart." Charlotte didn't even put up a fuss as she sometimes did as she lay down and began to nod off. He shook his head in amusement as he kissed her forehead before he turned out the lights and left her room after checking on her baby monitor to be sure that it was on.

"She asleep already," Blair inquired from her perch on their bed. She had expected to wait longer for him to appear.

"She's very close," he nodded as he climbed onto the bed and quickly hovered over her. "Such an intelligent child. She knows not to fight when we get into one of our moods."

"She takes after me," Blair grinned as she pulled him to her as his lips found hers.

"What will you be wearing this evening?" he inquired as he began undressing her.

"I have a darling gown that I created for the spring line that just didn't fit, so I thought I'd go with that," she replied as his hands made quick work of her clothing as his hands found her bare skin.

"What will you be wearing this evening?" he repeated as his hands skimmed her body.

She frowned as he repeated himself as if he wasn't really listening. He usually hung on her every word even in the midst of their lovemaking. It suddenly dawned on her what he was really asking.

"Silk stockings and my silver La Perla babydoll slip and matching garter belt," she informed him of what she was wearing underneath her gown.

The mental image that he formed in his head caused a groan to escape from his lips.

"And the matching thong," he added.

"Not tonight," she shook her head seductively.

"Blair," he growled as he processed the additional piece of information. Their night out just became a lot more interesting. Fortunately he knew The Palace like the back of his hand and knew all of the out of the way locations near the ballroom that they could escape to if needed.

"You're planning on ravishing me this evening aren't you," she teased.

"I am now," he told her as he pulled away to divest himself of his clothes. "I know this perfect spot for a clandestine rendezvous if you think you can manage to sneak away for a few moments."

"Only a few," she pouted.

"Lily is using the Bass name to host this event. It would be rude for two of its members to disappear for too long," he grinned just before he captured her pouting lips in a deep, lingering kiss.

"Then its fortunate that I chose an ensemble that requires the least amount of clothing to be taken off," she mused.

"Just lift the skirt and take my wife," he agreed as he slid into her just as he planned to later that evening.

"Will you be wearing suspenders or a belt?" she inquired as they began to rock their hips together in perfect rhythm, "If we're looking for speed, it's best to know all the details."

"I'll be wearing that Armani tuxedo you like so much," he told her, knowing that she now had all the details she needed.

"So a belt," she replied, "You going to try to trick me with boxers this evening?"

"You know me better than that," he responded as he slid in a little deeper as her legs wrapped a little tighter around his waist. Her eyes were dilating more and more with each thrust against each other. He could tell she was close to coming undone.

"Commando, Bass," she whispered into his ear as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"For you, always," he grinned as he felt her fall apart around him as she cried out in pleasure. After a few more well intentioned thrusts to draw out her pleasure, he expended himself inside her.

They were sweaty from exertion and breathing heavily as they always did as they clung to one another.

"We may need more than one rendezvous," Blair whispered into his ear.

"Don't we always," he chuckled just before they fell asleep against each other. They had planned to rest before they needed to get ready for the evening anyways, so he didn't fight the exhaustion as it overtook him.

**TBC. . . **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Baby, you need to wake up or at the very least roll off of me," Blair whispered into Chuck's ear as she tried to rouse him by shaking his shoulder gently. He'd fallen asleep virtually on top of her, and she was now trapped beneath him. A glance at the clock told her she would be late for the gala if she didn't start getting ready immediately. They had been asleep for nearly two hours, and Nate and Vanessa were due to arrive in less than ninety minutes.

Chuck continued to sleep against his wife. A light bulb went off in her head as an idea hit her about how to wake her peacefully sleeping husband.

"Chuck," Blair whispered seductively into his ear, "I need you now."

Chuck snorted as he suddenly woke up and attacked her lips. Blair was laughing as she rolled them over and pulled away. She wasn't at all surprised that trick worked.

"What is so funny?" he inquired as his lips caressed her neck gently.

"You can be in the deadest of sleeps, and I mention sex and suddenly you're wide awake and ready for action," she told him.

"Do you have a point?" he asked as he continued his assault against her skin as he rolled them back to their original position.

"We don't have time for this," she groaned as she motioned towards the clock on his nightstand, "I have to start getting ready. Nate is going to be here soon."

"We always have time for this," he told her as he pinned her to the bed when she tried to get up.

"Chuck, seriously, we have to start getting ready," Blair replied as he found the sensitive spot on her neck and began nibbling. A moan of pleasure that she tried to repress escaped, much to her chagrin.

"Go ahead," he chuckled as he continued on his quest, "I don't need near the time to get ready as you do so I can keep going."

"You're going alone then," she stated as she tried to squirm away from him.

With a menacing laugh and a firm grip, he kept her close.

"Chuck," she scolded him as she tried to pry herself free. She was wasting energy and time. She was no match for his superior strength. "I'm serious here. I need to start getting ready."

"Are you really telling me no?" he inquired as he pressed himself firmly against her so she could feel how ready he was for her, "I promise to be quick."

"I'm telling you no," she nodded as she gently tried to shove him away, "Because I know you, Chuck Bass, better than I know myself. You don't want to stop. You want to call Nate, tell him to stay home and spend the night ravishing me. We promised Lily that we would host this event with her, and we are not backing out. Charlotte's doctor is being honored this evening, and we are going to be there. We owe her."

"Yes, we do," he conceded as he released his hold on her and allowed her to get out of bed. "What do you suggest I do about this raging hard on you caused? As you've made abundantly clear through our years together, you deplore it when I take matters into my own hands, and it's not going away on its own."

"I really should make you suffer," she told him as she ambled back towards the bed as he sat up. He made no attempt to cover or hide his aroused state, nor did he ever. He was a very proud man with good reason.

"Blue balls, that's a new one for you," he hissed as her hands began caressing his chest methodically.

"Help me wash my back," she suggested as she whispered into his ear as she tugged him from the bed.

"Are you trying to torture me?" he groaned as she pulled him towards the shower where she started the water so that it would warm to her perfect temperature, "You're know I get even more keyed up when you add water to your superlative curves." She stepped in quickly and turned towards him as the water began to cascade down her body.

She could hear him cursing from his vantage spot just outside the shower as his eyes raked her frame. She was grinning like the Cheshire cat as she turned around and grabbed her soap before turning to hand it to him.

"You are a devilish woman," he groaned as he took the soap, and from his spot began to lather her back. Her shoulders began to shake as he groaned in appreciation as his hands skimmed her body with the bar. "You're laughing at me. Blair, this is cruel even for you. Here I am with the mother of all hard ons. Not only are you intending to torture me by making me watch you shower and, of all things, help wash you, but you're enjoying this."

"I'm enjoying the fact that my usually like minded husband is so adorably clueless for once," she told him as she took the soap from him and yanked on his hand to pull him into the shower with her. "When I said help me wash my back, I meant after you ravished me. When you didn't immediately jump on me when I got in, I wanted to see how far I could push you. Apparently not far."

"You evil woman," he told her as he backed her against the shower wall and lifted her up against it so that he could slide into her at the best possible angle. Blair's head rolled back and cracked the shower wall with a sickening thud. He heard her groan in pain. "Are you alright?" he inquired as he reached up to caress the back of her head as he stilled his motions inside of her.

"I forgot how hard this shower wall can be," she groaned as her eyes connected with his. His obvious concern was touching.

"I can stop if you need me to," he told her sincerely. He was choking on the words as he spoke them, but he'd never sacrifice her well being for his own satisfaction, and her eyes looked a little too glassy for his liking. He feared she'd given herself a concussion.

"Don't stop," she shook her head. The pain her movements caused were evident, but she latched onto him tight as she encouraged his movements to continue.

Chuck didn't waste any time in bringing them to their release.

"Let's get you to a doctor," he told her when they stepped out of the shower.

"I'm fine," she told him as she went to the vanity to grab a bottle of painkillers to numb out the headache she had caused.

"You're not fine," he told her. "You hit your head really hard. I think you could have a concussion."

"I don't have a concussion," she laughed as she quickly downed the painkillers. "Go check on Charlotte and then start getting ready. Nate and Vanessa will be here soon, and you've already put me behind schedule."

"Blair, I'm serious," he insisted, "I think you should get checked out."

"I'm fine," she snapped, "You're making too much out of this little headache. We've both been victim of our own passion from time to time, and we've both banged our heads in the heat of the moment. Nothing bad came from those, nor will anything bad come from this. Go check on Charlotte."

His gut told him to fight her on this, but one look into her eyes told him not to dare. She was going to hold her position no matter what he said.

* * *

"Blair, you look beautiful, as always," Nate told Blair as she greeted by him and Vanessa as they prepared to leave for the evening.

"Nate's right," Vanessa nodded in agreement, "That dress is amazing. One of yours?"

"Thank you both," Blair responded graciously, "And yes it was supposed to make the spring line last year, but I just couldn't make it fit. No sense it letting it go to waste."

"Is Chuck ready?" Nate inquired as he looked over her shoulder expecting to see Chuck join them.

"He's changing Charlotte," she told him, "We wanted to make sure she was fresh for her Uncle Nate. Thank you both for agreeing to watch her."

"Absolutely no trouble," Vanessa assured her.

"We both know how much you hate leaving her with strangers, and it gets us out of having to go to this benefit. Hospital fundraisers seem to be more boring than most," Nate assured her.

Chuck came walking into the living room with Charlotte in his arms and a blanket covering his shoulder so that Charlotte wouldn't droll on his suit.

"Here you go, Nathaniel," Chuck stated as he passed his daughter off to her godfather, "She should be good for an hour or so." He loved teasing Nate about changing Charlotte. It was amusing to watch, and it seemed to take his best friend forever to do it.

"Vanessa is handling changing duty this evening," Nate told them as he tickled Charlotte's stomach.

"Word of advice, Vanessa," Chuck chimed in, "Make him do it at least once this evening, and watch the results. It's hysterical."

Vanessa tried to keep a straight face but didn't quite succeed.

"She's already fed. She'll want a bottle just before she goes to sleep. The bedtime stories are on the shelf in her room. We usually do two a night," Blair instructed both of them as she reached out to straighten her husband's bowtie. "Bedtime is at nine."

"We probably won't be gone all that long," Chuck chimed in, as he looked at Blair with concern still evident in his eyes. While she looked beautiful in her stunning gown, her eyes were still slightly unfocused. In a soft whisper he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she assured him in a whisper that matched his own before she turned back to the babysitters for the evening. "You both have our numbers, so if anything happens, call us immediately. She's crawling, so keep your eyes on her."

"She's also standing," Chuck added.

"Her balance is still off," Blair chimed in.

"We won't let her out of our sight," Vanessa assured both of them.

"We need to be going. We shouldn't make Lily wait," Blair told Chuck. He nodded as he approached Nate and took Charlotte from him.

"You be good for Uncle Nate and Vanessa," he told his daughter. "And if you load your diaper, Daddy will be so proud."

"Chuck!" Nate exclaimed as he looked at his best friend with exasperation as Chuck handed Charlotte to Blair, "Come on, Man."

"Be a good girl," Blair told Charlotte as she kissed her cheek before handing her back to Nate. She noticed a lipstick print and wiped it away from Charlotte's cheek as Chuck handed his wife her clutch and wrap. They waved one last time to Charlotte as they stepped into the elevator.

In the car, Chuck tried to talk his wife out of going to the event and instead get checked out by a doctor, but Blair would have none of his suggestion. Even though her headache had not gone away since she first pounded her head and her stomach was a bit queasy, she was being stubborn and determined to grit it out.

"Mister and Mrs. Bass, it's a pleasure to see you this evening," Doctor Coffey stated as she approached the pair. Blair and Chuck had been playing up their hosting duties with flawless precision. "I'd like you to meet my husband, Louis."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Louis stated as he shook the pair's hands.

"Blair, Chuck, I wanted to thank you for agreeing to host this event," Doctor Coffey stated.

"No thanks required," Chuck assured her.

"How's Charlotte doing?" she inquired. It had been a few weeks since Charlotte's last exam and she was still having balance issues then.

"She took a couple of assisted steps today," Blair stated proudly.

"That's wonderful," Doctor Coffey responded, "So no more face plants."

"Thankfully no," Blair sighed as she grabbed her stomach suddenly.

"You okay, Blair," Doctor Coffey inquired as she saw the look of sudden panic on Chuck's face as his arm went protectively to his wife's side.

"She hit her head hard in the shower while getting ready this evening," he told the doctor.

"Have a seat, Blair," the doctor instructed her as she asked her husband to go get her medical bag that she never left home without.

"I'm fine," she tried to assure everyone as she took a seat.

"You're not fine," Chuck told her as he knelt next to her.

Soon Doctor Coffey's husband returned with her medical bag. She didn't waste a moment as she began examining Blair.

"Did you lose consciousness after you hit your head?" she inquired as she flashed a light in Blair's eyes.

"No," Chuck answered for her.

After a thorough exam, Doctor Coffey insisted on taking Blair to the hospital for an MRI. Blair was being stubborn, but Chuck was holding firm.

"You're going," Chuck told her, "If I have to throw you over my shoulder right now and carry you."

"What about our clandestine rendezvous?" she pouted.

"There is always the next event," he told her with a chuckle. Even Doctor Coffey and her husband were amused as they followed Blair and Chuck out of the ballroom.

* * *

"I can't believe they're insisting that I spend the night," Blair groaned as she settled into her private hospital room.

"You have a concussion, Beautiful," he reminded her as he brushed her hair away from her shoulder, "Of course they will keep you overnight."

"This is ridiculous," she snapped, "This isn't the first time I've banged my head."

She'd been in a foul mood since they left The Palace, and she had become even more edgy with each moment she had to stay in the hospital.

"Did you call Nate? Is he going to be able to stay with Charlotte tonight?" she inquired.

"I certainly could, but I think she'd sleep better with her parents," Nate stated as he strolled into Blair's hospital room with Charlotte bundled up in her winter coat. She was sound asleep on Nate's shoulder. Vanessa was right behind with a diaper bag slung over her shoulder.

"Perfect timing," Chuck stated as he lifted Charlotte carefully off Nate's shoulder, gingerly removed her coat, and then lowered her into Blair's eager arms. He knew that most of Blair's mood had to do with her separation from Charlotte.

"Only the two of you could manage a concussion during sex," Nate chuckled.

"You told him," she snapped as she glared at him as she began to stroke Charlotte's back.

"I swear I didn't," as he looked at Nate with a baffled expression.

"Hit your head in the shower. It doesn't take a genius to guess you had help," Nate continued to laugh.

"As much as I would love to describe for you the intimate details of our extremely passionate moment in the shower and how my husband gave me the greatest pleasure I have ever known, I'd like to spare your feelings seeing as how you used to try so hard yet always came up so short," Blair scowled at Nate.

"Ouch, okay, point taken," Nate winced as her words registered loud and clear, "We'll leave you to rest. If you need anything, let us know."

"Thank you for bringing Charlotte," Chuck stated as he slapped his best friend's shoulder as he walked them out of the room. Blair heard him apologizing for her stinging remarks.

"Mommy has a real bad ouchy," Blair told a sleeping Charlotte. "I have to stay in the hospital overnight, but you can stay right here with me."

"You should get some rest," Chuck told Blair when he returned moments later after walking Nate and Vanessa to the elevator. She was settled herself into bed with Charlotte on her chest, "Did you want me to take her?"

Blair shook her head and wrapped her arms protectively around Charlotte so he couldn't get at her all while Charlotte slept soundly.

"Why did you apologize to Nate?" Blair snapped.

"You were being rude," he scolded her, "Nate and Vanessa went out of their way to bring our daughter here to us. Our sex life is still a touchy subject for him, after all it began a mere hours after your relationship ended."

"He was laughing at me," Blair defended her actions, "That is unacceptable, even for him."

"Surely even you see the humor in this little predicament we have found ourselves in," he smirked.

"I suppose it was inevitable that one of us would end up injured at some point. We can get a little aggressive from time to time. I always assumed that it would be you in this bed," she conceded.

"So did I," he chuckled as he kissed her forehead, "Next time I promise to be the one that takes one for the team."

"You'd better," she pouted as her head fell back to rest against the pillow. She doubted she'd be able to get too much sleep. The sheets were itchy. The pillow was flat and the bed was to small too allow her husband join her.

"Try and get some sleep," he instructed her as he kissed her forehead again before he settled into the chair next to her bed. He took her hand and caressed it softly as he would continue to do as she fell into a peaceful slumber. What a beautiful picture his two beautiful women made as the slept soundly. While Blair insisted Charlotte looked like him in his sleep, he knew otherwise. She was most definitely her mother's daughter.

**TBC. . .**

**Reviews please . . . with sugar on top.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Come on, Sweetheart, go to Daddy," Blair told her daughter as she stood behind her ready to catch her if she started to fall.

Chuck sat only a few feet away with his arms stretched out to Charlotte. She was ready for her solo run. She'd been walking with assistance for a few weeks. Looking in her eyes, Chuck and Blair knew today was the day.

Charlotte stood tall for a few moments as she looked at her father and then up at her mother before she sat down.

"Not going to work today, Charlotte," Blair told her as she picked her up and returned her to her feet and released her hands.

Charlotte sat down again.

Blair quickly hauled her to her feet again and released her once more.

Charlotte sat down again, this time adding a giggle at the end.

"She's playing a game with you," Chuck realized as he saw the familiar twinkle in her big brown eyes.

"Come on, Charlotte," Blair sighed as she hauled her to her feet one last time as she brushed her hair off her shoulder, "Don't you want to walk to Daddy? He's waiting for you."

"Why is she coming to Daddy when she's having so much fun playing with Mommy?" Chuck inquired as he continued to study Charlotte's eyes. She was having too much fun to think about trying something new. "I think we're forcing this on her. We should let her come about this naturally."

"You're probably right," Blair agreed as she picked Charlotte up and hugged her tight. Although she was disappointed that Charlotte still hadn't taken her first steps, she'd never let her see that.

"We should take a vacation," Chuck announced as he stood up and pulled Charlotte from Blair's arms.

"Any ideas as to where, Bass?" she inquired as she took his hand that he extended to her.

"I was thinking Isola di Amore," he told her, referencing their private Mediterranean island, "We haven't been there for awhile. I think Serena has been there more recently that we have been."

Blair's eyes began to twinkle in excitement at the prospect of going to their island. They hadn't been there is almost eighteen months, since before she got pregnant with Charlotte in fact.

"That's a fabulous idea, Bass," Blair announced as she kissed his cheek, "I'll start packing."

"Clothing is optional, Love," he reminded her as he tapped her backside teasingly.

"I meant I'd start packing for Charlotte," she amended as she giggled a little at his lustful stare, "And we probably should at least pack bathing suits."

"Charlotte's first swim," he realized, "We'll have to be careful not get water in her ears. What do you think, Charlotte, do you want to go swimming?"

Charlotte giggled in excitement.

* * *

"Do you realize the last time we were on this beach we were conceiving Charlotte?" Chuck inquired as the family lay out on the beach of their private island almost as soon as they arrived.

"She wasn't conceived here," Blair argued.

"Yes, she was," he insisted, "Right on this very beach as the waves crashed around us."

"How can you be so certain," she inquired. In truth, she had no idea when exactly Charlotte had been conceived. There were just too many possibilities.

"It's a feeling that I have," he told her, "She was born nearly nine months to the day of that afternoon."

Blair thought for a few moments about the information that he'd given her. It certainly was a possibility, and a very romantic one at that. Whether he was right or not, she was going to let him hold onto his belief.

"You joining us?" he inquired as he carried Charlotte towards the surf. Blair up off the blanket and his heels in a moment.

Charlotte's eyes were wide as the waves began to crash at her father's feet as he walked deeper into the water. She curled herself tight into his arms as the water rose higher over his hips and tickled her toes. A shrill squeal left her lips as the water lapped gently against her back as Chuck held her tight against his chest. Soon her laughter was coming louder than the waves against the shore as she acclimated to the temperature.

Chuck was very aware of the water and careful that it didn't get into her ears, but he was also aware that her daughter loved this new experience. When he tried to back out of the water, Charlotte's whine halted his actions. Soon she was turning in his arms so that she could see the waves as they came. Her hands began slapping at the water splashing it towards her mother who squealed with laughter as the water splashed her in the face. Realizing her mother wouldn't retaliate, she slapped at the water again sending a fresh spray of water in her direction.

Blair quickly pulled Charlotte from Chuck's arms, spun her around just as Charlotte began splashing her father. Chuck suddenly disappears under the water. Charlotte's eyes went wide in surprise as she began to look around frantically for him. As he came up he had a mouthful of water he was going to carefully spray in Charlotte's direction, but his daughter was quicker and threw water in his face instead. As he laughed, the water sprayed out completely missing both Charlotte and Blair. He was still laughing as he reached out to cup Charlotte's face and kiss her cheeks.

It took awhile and they were all shriveled like prunes, but Chuck and Blair were finally able to pry Charlotte out of the water and back up to the beach.

Charlotte was sitting in the sand running her fingers through the white powder as Chuck and Blair lay on the blanket wrapped in each other's arms. They were gravitating towards each other when out of the corner of their eyes they saw Charlotte standing up awkwardly.

She toppled over once, her legs unsteady in the soft sanding, but she wouldn't be deterred. She stood up once more and took her first unassisted step towards her parents. Blair and Chuck were in awe as they watched her. She tumbled over again, but was determined to get to her parents as she stood again and took another few steps. She was covered in sand virtually from head to toe as she was able to reach out and latch onto Chuck's leg, which she used as her support as she continued on her journey.

Her parents were speechless as they pulled her into their arms and hugged her tight.

"I'm telling you this place is magical," Chuck spoke, as his voice finally came to him.

"I'm starting to believe you," Blair replied as she began to brush the sand off her daughter.

"One more jaunt into the surf," Chuck told Charlotte as he lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the shore. Blair could hear Charlotte laughing with joy as the water began to lap against her once more. Blair kept her seat on the blanket as she watched Chuck spin Charlotte around over and over.

She didn't know whose laughter was louder, her daughter's or her husband's. But the joy in their eyes was evident as they returned to her side.

"Charlotte's hungry," he told Blair as he held out a hand to pull her to her feet. Blair quickly gathered their belongs before they made their way to their villa and requested dinner be made by their private island chef.

"She's walking," Blair stated in disbelief as they began their gourmet meal. As they had showered and dried off, Charlotte took a few more solo steps. They continued to stare at her in disbelief. Now Chuck was feeding Charlotte in between bites of his meal.

"And I was there to see it," he added with pride. "I have been able to witness all of Charlotte's major milestones. That would never have happened if I'd stay with Bass, and I will continue to be here. Her first birthday is in just a few weeks, and I get to be there for the entire day. I'm going to hear her first word when she's ready. I want to be there for her first day of school."

"That's a long way off, Chuck," she told him.

"I know we haven't talked in depth about my returning to Bass, but I don't see it coming in the near future . . . if ever," he told her, "With you returning to work in a few months, know that I'm going to be there for Charlotte."

"Are you thinking about leaving Bass?" she inquired as she looked at him in disbelief.

He nodded as he feed Charlotte once again. "I'll keep my seat on the Board, but yes, I am thinking about resigning as CEO completely."

"I want you to really think about this, Chuck," she told him. "There is no turning back if you resign. They won't hand you back your job on a whim if you ever want to go back."

"I know," he agreed, "And I will continue to think it through. I'm not going to turn in my letter of resignation tomorrow. I just want you to know where my head is at. You have a say in this too."

"Do I?" she responded in surprise.

"This is your life too, Darling," he replied, "I want to hear what you have to saw about this."

"If this will make you happy, that is all I care about. That will be all you'll hear me say," she told him, "You know I don't love you because of your job or your money."

"I do," he agreed as he bent towards her so that he could kiss her lips softly. "Doing well at Bass makes me happy, but it doesn't compare with spending time with you and Charlotte. The pair of you are my world."

"Did you ever think this life could be possible?" she inquired as she caressed his face gently as he continued to feed Charlotte.

"No," he told her quickly. "I never expected to live a happy life. With my upbringing and all the tragic twists and turns it took before I turned eighteen, I never expected this, nor did I feel I earned it. I was simply too messed up and unable to express myself when it mattered most."

"Chuck," she spoke gently in an effort to stop him from continuing.

"I need to say this," he told her as he put a finger to her lips. "On graduation night all those years ago, you poured out your heart to me. You gave me the opening that I needed to finally confess my true feelings. I wanted to say the words . . . I needed to say the words to you. In my head it was so easy, just utter three syllables and my world would be complete. But opening myself up to that possible rejection, to that pain . . . to going through the hurt that I felt when my father died all over again if I ever lost you. I couldn't do it. So I ran . . . again.

"I took your heart and stomped all over it. I hurt you so much that you would have had every right to just turn your back and run when I came back. I actually expected it. The look of sheer bliss in your eyes as you rose up to kiss me and throw your arms around me . . . it still gives me goose bumps when I think about it. That moment was the first true moment of pure happiness that I have ever experienced."

"Chuck," she interrupted him as she brushed the tears out of her eyes.

"To answer your question, no, I never thought this life could be possible," he told her before he returned his attention to Charlotte to give her the last bite of her dinner.

Blair picked up Charlotte and set her in her playpen with several of her favorite toys to occupy her before she pulled Chuck to his feet, throwing her arms around him to kiss him with everything she had in her.

He lifted Blair easily in her arms and carried her to their bedroom. In the back of his mind, he realized that Charlotte was being left on her own in the dining room.

"I love you," Chuck told his wife as he laid her out on their bed. She was in a simple sundress that was easily removed. "See . . . simple." To prove his point, he said it again, "I love you."

"I love you," she responded as she lifted his shirt over his head before pushing his shorts down. "This goes quicker when we follow the clothing optional rule."

He chuckled as he attacked her neck.

"We left Charlotte in the dining room," Blair realized as his hands began to roam her body.

"She'll be okay for a few moments," he told her as he captured her lips in a bruising kiss.

"Only a few," she pouted as his hands continued to skim her body and work her into a frenzy.

"Perhaps a few more," he smirked as he proceeded to make love to his wife.

** TBC . . .**

**She's walking . . . She's getting so big already. Reviews, please.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Do I need to wear the hat?" Chuck inquired as Blair handed him a lilac, cardboard, cone-shaped hat as the elevator chimed the arrival of the first of their guests.

"Yes," Blair insisted as she hugged Lily in greeting as Chuck's stepmother stepped off the elevator.

"It goes with your silk shirt, Charles," Lily snickered as she kissed his cheek in greeting.

It was Charlotte's first birthday, and Blair was hosting the party of the century to celebrate. To say that she had gone over board with the decorations was putting it mildly. Balloons covered the entire entryway. Streamers hung from nearly every inch of the ceiling above. On every flat surface in their home was a touch of decorations to go with the festive theme. The color scheme was purple and lilac. She had insisted that everyone wear the colors to match the theme. She was in a lilac party dress, and Chuck's purple tie and lilac silk dress shirt coordinated with her dress perfectly, as it always did.

Blair snatched the party favor out of his hands and placed it on his head, snapping the elastic band under his chin to scold him. He glared at her devilishly as she then reached out and straightened his tie.

"You'll pay for that later," he hissed under his breath just before she patted his butt as she pulled away.

"I hope so," she winked as she showed Lily where she could put the few presents she had brought, and pick up the necessary party favors.

"Where is Charlotte?" Chuck heard Lily inquire as she followed Blair. He missed his wife's reply as he was just about to snatch the hat off his head when their next guest arrived.

"Not exactly your style, Buddy," Nate quipped as he motioned to the hat high on top of Chuck's head.

"Blair," he offered as he took the hat off quickly, "Tie is not exactly your style either, Nathaniel."

"Blair," he offered as he took a hold of the lavender tie he had purchased the previous week solely for this one occasion, "She insisted all guests wear purple or lilac."

"She'll try insisting that Charlotte picked out the colors," Chuck laughed, "But seriously, I don't believe a toddler is capable of such coordinated good taste, even my daughter."

"How about a drink," Nate requested.

"Aren't you missing something . . . perhaps a date," Chuck inquired as he showed Nate into his study to get the drink he was requesting.

"Vanessa is coming later," Nate responded, "She had a shoot in Queens that she couldn't reschedule."

Blair found the pair in his office. "Chuck, we have guests," she told him, "I need you out here."

"I have a guest in here," Chuck offered as he motioned to his best friend.

"Nate doesn't count," she hissed, "Get out here now."

"Ouch, should I be insulted?" Nate inquired as he took a sip of his drink as Blair disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

"It's not you," Chuck laughed as he escorted Nate out of his office, "I've been agitating her all day."

"On purpose," Nate asked as he eyed his best friend in disbelief. He had spent most of his relationship with Blair purposely avoiding her wrath, and here was his best friend walking right into the fire. "Do you know how dangerous that can be?"

"Of course," he chuckled, "You have no idea what you were missing out on. A fiery Blair is an insatiable Blair."

"Where is your hat?" Blair snapped as Chuck reappeared. He looked at her guiltily. He had left the hat in his office without realizing it. "Go get your hat!"

He realized he had to play it cool for a while as he disappeared quickly to retrieve his hat. She was becoming too worked up. It was a delicate balance that he had to find. If she became too angry, she would be in no mood for his advances later.

"Where's the birthday girl?" Serena inquired after everyone gathered in the living room to begin the party.

Blair's eyes went wide at the realization that the guest of honor was still sound asleep in her bedroom as Blair had laid Charlotte down for a nap as she got ready for the party.

"We wanted her to make a grand entrance once everyone had arrived. We'd better go get her," Chuck told the anxious partygoers as he took Blair's hand and pulled her towards their daughter's room.

"We forgot our daughter," Blair gasped as she buried her head in Chuck's chest as soon as they were in their daughter's bedroom. "We forgot about our daughter on her birthday. We are horrible parents."

"We are amazing parents," he assured her as he held her tight, his hand caressing her back gently as he attempted to comfort her.

"I was so caught up in making sure that this day was perfect for her that I forgot our daughter," she choked out as she continued to sob onto his chest.

"Blair, she's a year old. She'll never even realize that we forgot if we had, but we didn't," he responded as as his thumb began to rub lazy circles at the small of her back.

"I'll remember," she replied as she sniffled.

"Let's wake her up so she can enjoy the party," he suggested as he walked his wife towards the crib so they could gaze at their daughter, "She looks so cute in her lilac outfit and matching hair ribbon."

"She does look festive," Blair agreed as she stroked Charlotte's hair softly as she admired the dress she had created specifically for her daughter's birthday, "And she was so looking forward to being the center of attention at today's festivities."

"Just like her mother," he smirked as Blair gently began shaking Charlotte awake.

Charlotte's eyes popped open instantly. She stretched out like a cat and then extended her arms to be picked up.

"Are you ready to be the belle of the ball?" Chuck inquired as he tickled Charlotte's stomach as Blair held her tight. After Chuck placed her white patent leather shoes on her tiny feet, Blair set her down and let her toddle toward the laughter that exploded suddenly in the other room. Since her first steps at the island, Charlotte was getting better each day with walking, but they had discovered that shoes helped enormously. Now whenever they set their daughter down, she always had shoes on her feet, plus they were tiny tap shoes that made clicking noises when she took a step so they could always find her if she tried to hide, which was becoming a new game of hers.

"Did my mascara run?" Blair inquired as she turned towards Chuck as she wiped at her eyes.

"You look perfect, as you always do," he assured her as Charlotte suddenly disappeared from their view. She was moving quicker and quicker each day. They heard the oohs and aahs as Charlotte appeared before the eager partygoers. Most had yet to witness Charlotte's most recent milestone.

"Don't you look cute, Charlee," Serena squealed as she picked up her goddaughter and rained kissed all over her face. Charlotte was giggling as she soaked up the attention. "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart."

"So adorable," Harold stated as he took Charlotte and held her in his arms as Blair and Chuck entered the room, "It seems like just yesterday your grandmother and I were celebrating your mommy's first birthday. You look just like her."

Blair's mother stepped up next to Harold and began tickling Charlotte under her chin. Charlotte shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to stop the assault as she curled in closer to Harold. Blair could see her mother making the effort to interact with Charlotte, but made no attempt to hold her granddaughter. Eleanor Waldorf was virtually a stranger to her grandchild as she was in France a majority of the first year of Charlotte's life.

Charlotte continued to be handed around to the various party guests in attendance, as everyone wanted their turn to hold the birthday girl. Blair found herself mesmerized by Charlotte's interactions with everyone. She was the belle of the ball, and it was clear she was enjoying that she was the center of attention.

"You look a hundred miles away, Beautiful," Chuck whispered in her ear as he came up behind her, putting one hand around her waist as he brought her close.

"I'm not nearly that far," she assured him as her head came to rest on his shoulder, "I'm just watching Charlotte soak up the attention like a sponge."

"She becomes more like you with each passing day," he added as he kissed the nape of her neck, taking a moment to inhale her tantalizing scent.

"I hope that is a compliment, Bass," she replied in a tense tone. Her earlier irritation with him had not disappeared for which he was somewhat thankful. He didn't want to have to start from square one in his quest to fire her up.

"The highest of compliments," he assured her as he kissed her forehead gently. He wanted her fired up, not steaming mad. It was all about finding the balance he told himself.

As the tiered birthday cake was rolled out and put in front of Charlotte who was set up in her high chair, her eyes lit up at the sparkler candle at the top. The little pyromaniac was mesmerized by the flame before her as she was on Christmas Eve when they were making s'mores in front of the fireplace. As the guests sang an off-keyed version of 'Happy Birthday', Charlotte was reaching towards the flame. Fortunately, Chuck had the presence of mind to keep the candle out of her reach. Unfortunately, the cake was not and soon she had a fist full of it squishing through her little fingers.

Before the last note died out, the fist full was no longer in her hand, but on her face, on her dress, and in her hair. Purple icing was mixed in with her tiny auburn curls. Charlotte was giggling as Blair groaned at the mess her daughter had made of her perfectly pressed little outfit. All the guests laughed and snapped pictures before Blair lifted her daughter out of her chair to clean her up.

"Such a cute dress," Blair sighed as she lifted it over her daughter's head once she was in her daughter's bedroom. Charlotte was still giggling as the sugary icing was wiped off her face and combed out of her hair.

"She's not in trouble, is she?" Chuck inquired as he strolled into the room just as Blair was redressing her in an alternate dress she had designed for just such an occasion.

"Of course not," Blair assured him as she worked Charlotte's arms through the sleeves.

"I think this dress is cuter than the original," Chuck told Blair as his wife picked her up and kissed her cheeks.

"Now, Charlotte, this dress needs to stay clean," Blair told her.

"Do you realize that she is twelve months old and doesn't understand those words?" he inquired as Charlotte reached out for him.

"She understands them perfectly," Blair responded as she passed Charlotte off. "She's our daughter. Therefore she is the smartest one year old that there ever was."

"She takes after you, of course she's the smartest one year old," he grinned as he kissed Charlotte's cheeks before lowering her to the floor. When she found her footing, she took off like a shot towards the party once more.

"Where is your hat?" she inquired as she noticed he wasn't wearing the cardboard cone she had given him earlier.

"The elastic snapped off," he lied, "It won't stay on any longer."

His wife didn't believe his story for a moment and pulled him towards the table full of party favors, snapping another hat to his head as she pulled the elastic string a little more so that it snapped under his chin hard.

"I love it when you get rough with me," he growled quietly as he pulled her to him, kissing her roughly on the lips. She was chuckling softly as she pulled away.

"If this hat leaves your head at all during the rest of the party, you can forget about making love later tonight like I know you're planning," she told him sweetly . . . too sweetly he suddenly realized. "You wanted me fired up, I'm fired up. You push me any further, and I'll turn toxic," she continued. "And we both know you don't want that."

"Warning taken," he replied as she kissed him softly.

"Love you, Bass," she replied just before she turn to rejoin the party.

"I love you," he spoke mostly to himself, as she was gone before he could get the sentence out of his mouth.

**TBC . . .**

**What do you think? **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Is Charlee asleep?" Blair inquired as Chuck came into their bedroom after reading to their daughter until she fell asleep.

"Yes," he responded simply as he took off his hat and threw it across the room. He'd worn the stupid cardboard thing for far longer than she had demanded of him. "For my own personal knowledge, are you fired up or toxic?"

"Scalding," she spoke seductively as she rose off the bed to show off the lavender lingerie she was wearing.

"Beautiful," he spoke as he closed the distance between them and swept her into his arms, his lips crushing against her with bruising force.

"I bought this solely for this evening," she told him as she worried his earlobe between her teeth.

"Before or after you chose the color scheme for Charlotte's party?" he inquired. Inside his head, he was screaming at himself to shut up before he pissed her off to the point of no return.

"Before," she gasped in his ear, "And Charlotte picked out those colors."

"Come on, Blair, I'm horny, not stupid. Charlotte is a year old. There is no way she picked out those colors," he chuckled as his eyes closed reflexively as her warm breath sent a thrilling sensation all the way along his already over-sensitized body. The things this woman did to him. If only she really knew how much power she had over him.

"Yes, she did," Blair whispered into his ear, "I gave her a few choices, all of them shades of purple."

"Is that so," he chuckled as his hands wound their way into her hair as he pulled her to him in another scorching kiss.

"Why were you so intent on firing me up today?" she inquired as his lips released hers to begin roaming her neck.

"No real reason," he told her as he bite down gently on one of her many sensitive spots.

"Charlotte's party seemed to be a success," she mused as his hand brushed away one of the straps off her shoulder as his lips caressed the silken skin he revealed.

"Of course it was," he grinned as he refused to be deterred by her attempt to distract him. "Blair Bass would settle for nothing less."

"And she loved all the attention that she received," she continued to speak as a knowing smile graced her lips.

"She always does," he replied, as his focus was now on her other shoulder as he slid that strap away.

"And the presents . . . she tore through them like someone who was possessed," she added as her smile widened.

"She tore through them like her mother would," he replied with a seductive grin of amusement. She slapped him lightly on the shoulder for the remark.

"Everyone at the party seemed to have a good time," she continued.

"As much as I love this little recap you are providing . . . I was there. I don't need to be reminded of how much fun the party was, how much everyone enjoyed it, how much fun the guest of honor had," he told her as he halted his actions to look her deep in the eyes, "You're trying to distract me from my ultimate goal, and it's working."

Blair began laughing in satisfaction at his admission.

"How do you get me to bend to your every whim?" he groaned as her arms came around his neck to rest comfortably against him.

"It comes naturally," she replied as his arms came around her waist. "I've always had you wrapped around my finger even before I started trying."

"Why is that?" he thought out loud.

"Because you love me," she whispered in his ear as her arms tightened around his neck as she pulled him closer.

"I'm no longer in the mood," he told her as he relinquished his hold and disappeared suddenly into the bathroom. Blair was left alone with her mouth hanging wide open as she was left to wonder where things went wrong. Surely he had to be joking or trying to teach her a lesson. He was Chuck Bass after all. He didn't have an off switch. He was always in the mood.

After a few moments in which she was sure that he'd return to her, the sound of the shower starting and the door opening and closing was all she could hear.

He had wanted her feisty earlier, now she full of pure anger. How dare he reject her! She stormed into the bathroom ready for a fight as she turned sharply towards the shower door with the intension of giving her husband a good tongue-lashing. When she peered into the shower her naked husband was not inside.

Suddenly familiar arms came around her waist from behind as he pulled her tight against his very obvious erection. "You didn't think I meant that, did you?" he whispered into her ear just before he bit her lobe gently.

Her temper got the better of her as she spun around abruptly and slapped his chest. When she realized he was still as fully clothed as he had been when he'd left her in the bedroom, she slapped him again.

He caught her wrist after the second slap and pinned it to her side. Before her free hand could turn on him, he had her second wrist pinned to her other side. She began thrashing against him in an effort to free herself. Her eyes were dark with anger. He could see that he was playing with fire. She was no longer scalding; she had turned toxic. There wasn't much he could do except hold on and pray that she'd calm down.

"Let go of me," she hissed as she continued to rub against him as she tried to break free from his clutches.

"Not until you calm down," he told her as he backed her against the steamed up shower door. Her thrashing was doing a few things, one it was turning him on even more as she rubbed up against him, and two it caused one strap of her negligee to come apart, exposing one of her breast to him, also turning him on.

"Calm down!" she hissed venomously, "Let go of me right now. If you have any thoughts of seeing Charlotte's second birthday, you'll do as I say."

Her eyes were as black as coal as the anger gushed through her body as he used what little reserved energy he had left to use his body to pin her completely against the door behind her so she could not move nor escape.

He thought about releasing her as she continued to stare him down and deal with her rage as it came, but something inside told him to keep pushing her buttons . . . to hell with the potential consequences. He was already a dead man as far as he could tell; he might as well go as a satisfied one.

His lips crashed against hers with a force that even surprised him. She let out a cry in protest before she suddenly relented. She stopped struggling against him and began kissing him back with the same bruising force. He released her hands as he grabbed a hold of her waist roughly to bring her close. Her hands fisted the fabric at his chest and ripped it free.

"Jesus, Blair," he growled as her teeth began scrapping against his neck leaving clear marks wherever she went. With his shirt in a ripped heap on the floor, she began working his pants free. There was no saving them as the zipper was ripped apart and the pants were shoved roughly down his thighs until they pooled at his ankles.

"If you know what's good for you, Bass, you'll take me right now," she hissed as her arms came around his neck, which she used as leverage as she wrapped her legs around his waist swiftly.

He wasted no time in pushing the silk of her panties aside before he slid into her. Blair's head rolled forward to rest against his shoulder as he pushed himself in deeper, drawn in by her unbelievable warmth. Her whimper of pleasure spurred him on as he wasted very little energy as he pulled out before sliding back inside. Blair let out an appreciative moan as her head rolled back and came to rest against the steamed glass. Had he not anticipated her move, she would have cracked both her head and possibly the glass, but his hand cradled her gently.

He pushed her higher up against the glass so that his angle was more to her liking. It also gave him better access to her breasts, one of which was still covered by the lavender silk. His mouth instantly latched onto the silky peak.

He realized he wasn't going to last much longer.

"Blair, let go," he growled. She shook him off as she continued to thrust against him in perfect rhythm.

"Damn it, Blair, let go!" he demanded as his hand covered her bare breast and began messaging it the way she always responded to.

"Make me," was her curt response.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he grinned devilishly against her bosom as his hand released her one breast and skimmed down the silk covering her body to her hip and then to her thigh before he moved inward between their adjoined bodies. He began teasing her slick nub in unison with his rapid thrusts.

Blair's already deafening moans increased in volume and pitch as her pleasure built to new heights. She told herself that was she was feeling didn't make any sense as the orgasm began to roll through her body. Usually it was an explosion of pleasure, but this crept up from her toes before it spread throughout her body. She knew Chuck felt it too from the curse that escaped his lips as he found his release.

"What the hell was that?" she gasped as she tried to suck in as much air as possible as the both tried to recover from the unbelievable high they had just experienced.

"You tell me," he demanded as he panted for air as his forehead pressed into her chest.

"I think we just discovered a toxic Blair makes for a fantastic fuck," she responded as her hand ran through his hair, holding him close.

Chuck cringed at the crass language she used. "I do not fuck my wife," he snapped, "I've fucked enough in my life to know that there is a definite difference."

"Find a better word then," she challenged him as her chest continued to heave.

"Rough love," he told her after he took several deep breaths in hopes that the light-headedness would go away. He knew the shallow breathing was the cause and he didn't want to pass out while he was supporting both of them. He could care less about himself, but he'd never hurt her.

"The bathroom is spinning, Bass," Blair stated as her eyes clamped shut in an effort to get the world to stop turning.

"For me too," he told her, "You're not going to like it, but I have to put you down or I might drop you." Blair pouted as she was returned to her feet and he pulled out of her. "I'm sorry," he felt the need to add.

"We'll have to remember to keep the rough love confined to the bedroom," she giggled as he collapsed against her. His legs hadn't given way yet for which he was thankful. They clung to each other as they waited for the outside world to stop spinning, kissing and caressing each other because they couldn't resist being near each other without it.

* * *

"Is Charlotte still asleep?" Blair inquired when Chuck returned from checking on their daughter. His wife had curled up in their sheets as he left to check on Charlotte after they had finally found their equilibrium.

"How she managed to stay asleep with her mother moaning as loud as she was is beyond me, but she's still sound asleep," he confirmed as he climbed into bed as she curled herself against him.

"Her daddy managed a few hollers as well," she teased as she nipped playfully at his chest with her teeth.

"One of these days, Blair, you're going to kill me," he groaned as her teeth scrapped against his skin.

"In bed would be the most appropriate place for Chuck Bass to go," she laughed against his skin as she continued her assault on his already overly stimulated senses.

"Blair, as much as I love what you're doing to me right now, the earth has just stopped spinning. Give me a little time to recover before you send my senses out of orbit again."

"Are you slowing down on me, Bass?" she grinned as she stopped her assault and lost herself in his eyes.

"Rough love is pretty mind blowing for me as well," he told her as he kissed her softly, "Requires a longer recovery time."

"We'll need to keep that in mind for next time," she replied.

"A plethora of lessons were learned today," he told her as he ran his fingers through her hair rhythmically. "Lesson one: Toxic Blair is not to be avoided at all costs as previously thought. I must; however, proceed with extreme caution. You need to be in the right mood for it."

"Lesson two: if you advance upon Toxic Blair, do so in close proximity to a bed," Blair chimed in, using a third person reference so she could separate herself from the behavior. She was ashamed of how she had reacted to the little innocent teasing he'd been doing throughout the day and evening.

"Lesson three: Toxic Blair will not let go when asked. She has to be forced," he continued with their list.

"Lesson four: Rough love requires a longer recovery period for my stud of a husband," Blair added as she began kissing his chest again in the hopes that his recovery period was close to ending.

"Lesson five: Charlotte will sleep through even the loudest, most intense love making episodes without blinking an eye. Seriously, have we found anything that child won't sleep through?" he chuckled.

"She is a room away now," Blair rationalized as she continued on her path down his chest.

"Do you think that makes any difference?" he inquired as he tried to ignore the effects she was having on his body.

"Bring her in here, fire me up again and we'll find out," she responded with a twinkle in her eyes.

"How about soft and slow this time," he suggested, "I'm not sure I have the energy to fight you off this time. I know you, Blair; you aren't above kneeing me in the groin. I'm flabbergasted that you didn't even attempt such a maneuver on me earlier today."

"Thought never even crossed my mind," she told him, "That could put you out of commission for an unspecified length of time, and I'm not willing to go through that."

"Always thinking three steps ahead," he chuckled as he captured her lips, "It's why we make such a great team."

"There is another reason we make such a great team," she spoke seductively as she climbed over him and proceeded to take charge in their lovemaking.

* * *

"Over the course of our relationship, I believe you'll agree that I'm a man that loves to learn from my mistakes," Chuck told Blair as they attempted to recover from another mind bending sexual encounter.

"You most definitely are," she nodded.

"What set you off earlier?" he inquired, "You came into the bathroom with your guns blazing. You were ready for a fight."

"Which you were all too happy to give me," she smirked as she pecked at his chest.

"Just trying to keep my wife satisfied," he grinned.

"The little things you did throughout the day got me started," she began, "Playing with Charlotte when you were supposed to be dressing her, reading through the business proposal you've been working on for the board meeting at Bass later this month when you were supposed to get dressed, not wearing the hat like I asked, then complaining about it, then forgetting it when you took it off, disappearing with Nate when we were supposed to be hosting the party together, then ditching your hat completely."

"In my defense, that hat had very flimsy elastic holding it together," he chuckled.

Blair slapped his chest lightly as she laughed. "Then you make me wait for what seemed like forever when I was perched on this bed in my brand new lingerie that I bought special just for this day."

"I was putting our daughter to bed," he reminded her.

"I know," she sighed, "And I love how dedicated you are to our daughter, but occasionally I would like to come first with you."

"Blair," he began.

"I know I'm being ridiculous. Of course our daughter needs to come first. It's supposed to be that way, especially on her birthday, but we go from me being your entire world to being only half your world. As ludicrous as it sounds, I'm jealous of our daughter," she told him.

His heart broke for her as she dissolved into a puddle of tears. He didn't know what to say to make her tears go away.

"There is no half to my world," he told her as he held her tight, "You and Charlotte are my entire world . . . both of you. I will do anything for both of you."

"But I don't come first to you anymore," she continued to sob, "If we're making love and Charlotte cries out, we stop everything to go to her."

His heart stopped. Everything she was saying was true. Nothing he could say was going to change what she was feeling.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear as he held her close. "I'm so sorry."

After Blair was able to contain her tears, she slid from the bed and into her robe before she left the room. Chuck was out of the bed as quick as he could follow.

Blair didn't hesitate to pick up her daughter and hold her close. Charlotte fussed slightly before she curled into her mother's arms and continued to sleep soundly. Blair took a seat in the rocking chair next to Charlotte's crib and rocked her daughter as she resumed crying quietly.

"Blair," Chuck whispered as he knelt next to her and brushed the hair behind her ear.

"I love Charlotte," Blair sniffled quietly.

"I know," he nodded as he caressed her cheek softly.

"I love Charlotte, and I love being her mom," Blair continued, "But I love being your wife just as much if not more. That's not fair to Charlotte. She deserves a mom that is totally devoted to her just like her father is."

"You are as devoted to Charlotte as I am," he told her.

"Not when I say things like I'm jealous of our daughter," she shook her head as tears continued to fall.

"Look at me, Blair," he requested, "Charlotte knows that you love her. When you say that I put her first, you do the same thing. If I don't go to her first, it's because you beat me there. As much as you and Charlotte are my entire world, Charlotte and I are yours. You don't love me more than you love Charlotte. You love us differently. With Charlotte, it's a maternal, unconditional, protect at all costs type of love. With me, it's a lustful, consuming, have to have me all the time type of love. They are different types of love. They hit us differently at different times. There are days when I'm holding Charlotte in my arms and I think, and sometimes say, that I love her more than anything else in the world, more than you. Then the next day, or perhaps the next hour, I'm holding you, and thinking I love you more than anything. Both statements are true and false at the same time."

She nodded as his words sunk in. He was making perfect sense.

"How do you do it, Bass?" she sniffled again as she wiped away at her tears, "You always manage to find the words to make everything okay."

"I got lucky this time," he told her as he kissed her forehead. "We should put her back to bed."

"I will soon," Blair replied.

"I'll give you a few minutes with her," he told her as he stood up while kissing her forehead again before he bent down to kiss Charlotte's cheek.

Blair sat quietly with Charlotte in her arms as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her mind tried to wrap around the words that Chuck had told her. His explanation seemed to be the most logical and simple statement. Of course, she would love each of them differently.

"I do love you, Charlotte," Blair spoke softly, "I hope you will always know that, and I hope that you will always feel that you can come to me with any problem or trouble that you may have. Mostly I hope that you'll know that this family comes first to me, you and Daddy, and maybe a brother or sister or two will always come above my work and my place in society."

Charlotte's eyes flutter open as she reached up to touch her mother's lips. Blair caught her hand; her daughter's fingers curled around one of her mother's, as she kissed Charlotte's hand gently.

Blair began rocking Charlotte in an effort to get her to fall back to sleep. She could tell that her daughter was fighting to stay away as she continuously yawned.

"Go to sleep, Angel," Blair whispered, "Daddy and I will be here when you wake up."

The smile on Chuck's face as he watched his wife and daughter was as large as it had ever been.

"Happy Birthday, Charlotte," Blair added just as Charlotte's eyes fluttered closed once more.

**TBC. . .**

**How about it? Does my hard work deserve a few reviews?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"You said I was having lunch with my goddaughter. Where is she?" Serena inquired as she met Blair for a quiet lunch before they set off on an epic shopping trip.

"With Chuck and her godfather. There was a coin. It got tossed. Charlotte went with her father," Blair pouted. Chuck was the lucky winner of the coin flip and got to have Charlotte for the afternoon. Blair was intending to search him later to see if he had a double-sided coin that he'd used to his advantage. She certainly wouldn't put it passed him.

"Is she talking yet?" Serena inquired as she took a seat and began pursuing the menu. Blair had told her earlier that Chuck was buying lunch for them, so nothing was too expensive as she was quick to hold up Chuck's credit card.

"She's so close," Blair stated as her eyes suddenly lit up in excitement, "Chuck and I have a little wager on what her first word is going to be. I'm positive that it's going to be 'Dada', but he's convinced it's going to be something else entirely."

"For once I think Chuck's wrong when it comes to your daughter," Serena replied, "It's obviously going to be 'Dada'. Charlee idolizes her father."

"That's why this doesn't make any sense," Blair replied as a curious expression appeared on her face, "It's almost as if he's planning something."

"Surely he wouldn't mess with Charlee's first word. That's sacred," Serena replied after a moment of thought. Sure he was a man that hated losing a bet, but even he would have to realize how important his daughter's first word would be. "Perhaps he just knows her better than the rest of us."

"I'm not going to argue with that, but I know my Bass. He's planning something," Blair responded. She couldn't help but recall the curious expression on his face when she had first proposed the bet.

"I'm going to regret asking this, but what exactly was your wager," Serena inquired. The hesitation in which she asked the question was amusing to Blair as she laughed out.

"You know us well," Blair continued to chuckle, "Who ever is right gets to pick the location where we start trying to conceive a sibling for Charlee."

"Already!" Serena exclaimed, "You haven't even returned to work yet."

"That's only a week away," Blair replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "And we're not planning another child right this second. I want to get back into the swing of things with the line before we jump into pregnancy once more, but we want a sibling for Charlotte."

"But so soon. Wouldn't it be best to wait until Charlee is potty trained or something?" Serena inquired.

"It might be, but this feels right for us," Blair replied, "We've talked about it. We wanted to wait until Charlotte was at least a year old."

"Are you sure Charlee is ready for a sibling?" Serena asked, "She's had both of your undivided attentions since she was born. I'm not sure, she'll want to share either of you with another baby. When Eric was born, I remember wanting to hide him away so nobody could find him because nobody was paying enough attention to me."

"You were two years old when Eric was born, how could you possibly remember that?" Blair chuckled.

"It might not exactly be my memory, but I've been told that's what my thoughts were," Serena conceded.

"I think the longer we wait to add to our family will make it harder on Charlotte," Blair rationalized.

"Do I get to be godmother again?" Serena asked eagerly.

"Of course," Blair laughed.

"We need to start shopping," Serena replied as she pulled Blair to her feet quickly.

"Calm down, Serena," Blair replied as she freed herself from her overeager friend's clutches and sat back down so she could eat the salad she had ordered, "I'm not pregnant yet, so we do have time."

"I want a baby," Serena announced.

Blair nearly choked on the fork full of lettuce she was eating. "Repeat that please," she requested. Surely she was hearing things.

"I want a baby," Serena repeated.

"Aren't you missing something . . . like the father perhaps," Blair reminded her impetuous best friend, "You haven't been in a serious relationship in lord only knows how long. The best relationship that you ever had was with Dan Humphrey, and he left New York years ago on some never ending quest to find himself in Europe."

"He's coming home soon," Serena confessed.

"How do you know that?" Blair was stunned by the revelation. She had been under the impression that Serena and her former flame had no contact with each other.

"Rufus let it slip accidentally during dinner a few nights ago," Serena replied.

"Where is he?" Blair inquired.

"Botswana," Serena replied, "He's been teaching English in a small village."

"Sounds like Humphrey," Blair replied dryly.

"Botswana," Serena repeated with a groan of frustration, "Had I known he was so close when I was in Malawi with the Peace Corp, I could have seen him . . . possibly reconnected with him."

"Serena van der Woodsen, are you thinking about another go around with Humphrey. Must you continue to let history repeat itself," Blair sighed.

"Dan has always been the one for me," Serena stated, "Like Chuck is for you."

"There is one significant difference between Chuck and me and you and Dan," Blair felt the need to point out, "Chuck and I have been able to make our relationship work."

"Dan and I just weren't ready for that serious commitment," Serena rationalized, "We needed to work through our issues first."

"Do you think you've worked through yours?" Blair inquired, "Daddy Dearest is around, but hardly a significant part of your life. Lily and Rufus are still involved. You don't have a career to speak of, unless professional shopper is suddenly a career."

"Hey, that's not fair," Serena replied.

"I'm sorry. You're right. That was rude," Blair apologized quickly, "If Dan will make you happy, then I'll support you, even if he is from Brooklyn."

"Thanks, B," Serena laughed as she hugged her best friend.

* * *

"Pretty soon I'll have to start buying you lunch," Nate told his best friend when he joined Chuck and Charlotte for a lunch of their own. "I am the one with a job, after all."

"That would certainly be a switch," Chuck laughed as Charlotte reached out to her godfather with a squeal of excitement. Nate was quick to take her.

"You talking yet, Charlee?" Nate inquired as he tickled her stomach.

"Not yet," Chuck replied as Charlotte giggled under her godfather's torture.

"Come on, Charlee, say 'Nate'," he cooed, "Nate."

"Give me back my daughter," Chuck demanded as he held out his hands for his daughter, "Don't listen to him, Charlotte. You're not going to say 'Nate' until after you say 'Mama' and 'Dada'. Remember, Charlotte, Mama."

"What happened to Dada?" Nate inquired with an amused chuckle.

"Blair and I made a bet on what Charlotte's first word is going to be," Chuck stated, "She went with the obvious."

"And you're determined to be right," Nate chuckled as their waitress came to take their drink orders, "Jack and Coke, please."

"Manhattan, please," Chuck replied.

"And for the little lady?" the waitress inquired.

"White grape juice, please," Chuck required as he held out a covered cup he had brought with for the occasion. Charlotte immediately reached out for it, but Chuck held it away. "It's empty, Charlotte. This nice lady has to fill it up first."

"I'll be right back, Mister Bass," the waitress assured him as Charlotte began pouting at the loss of her cup.

"I don't know if I've ever seen tears come out of Charlotte's eyes," Nate observed as the fat tears began to roll down Charlotte's chubby little cheeks.

"They're crocodile tears," Chuck told his friend as he bounced Charlotte up and down on his knee for a few moments.

"She learned that from Blair," Nate concluded.

"Naturally," Chuck nodded.

"What is your better half up to?" Nate inquired as Chuck dug into the designer diaper bag and found a toy for his little girl to play with to take her mind off of the missing cup.

"She's having lunch with Serena, and then I'm sure they'll take off on one of their epic shopping adventures which we leave me thousands of dollars poorer," he responded as Charlotte was contented with the toy in front of her and stopped pouting.

"If anyone can afford it, you can," Nate laughed out.

"It's probably better that I ended up with Blair," Chuck teased, "I have the financial resources to absorb such a financial hit."

"If you're trying to get me to feel grateful for you taking Blair off my hands, it's not going to happen," Nate grinned, "You took her from me less than an hour after we broke up."

"Water under the bridge, right?" Chuck inquired as he raised a curious eyebrow in his best friend's direction.

"Yeah," Nate nodded, "After all you have forgiven me for what happened on your wedding day."

"You mean when you tried to convince my beautiful bride to run away with you instead of marrying me," Chuck laughed, "Yeah, I forgave you."

"That's not exactly what happened," Nate stated defensively, "I never asked her to run away with me. I merely asked what would happen if I suggested it. She wouldn't even allow for the possibility. That told me everything that I needed to know. It worked out for the best. She has you, and I found my way back to Vanessa."

"How is that going?" Chuck inquired as the waitress returned with their drinks and Charlotte's juice, which his daughter practically ripped out of his hand.

"Very well," Nate stated, "It's almost as if we never had those years apart."

"So there's a future here," Chuck concluded as he took a sip of his drink before taking the cup from Charlotte that she was handing to him. She was more interested in the toy in front of her at the moment.

"Hopefully," Nate nodded, "There isn't exactly anything keeping us apart anymore . . . there are no family obligations, no lingering feelings for an ex-girlfriend . . ."

"No territorial cougars trying to keep their paws in you," Chuck laughed as he got his daughter's attention. "Your godfather was once a kept man for a Duchess from England."

"Come on, Man, don't poison your daughter's head with all that ridiculous nonsense," Nate rolled his eyes.

"As your best friend, I reserve the right to throw those things in your face," he replied as he continued to chuckle.

"The worst thing I've ever done doesn't even come close to your transgressions. You'll do well to remember, I was the one that you used to brag to about your conquests . . . the nannies, the stewardesses, the naughty nurses, the room service attendants, the . . ."

"I get the point," Chuck rolled his eyes.

"I keep my mouth shut if you do the same," Nate offered.

"Daddy was stupid in his youth," Chuck told his daughter as she looked up at him with her adorable brown eyes opened nice and wide.

"You know she looks at you as her hero," Nate stated.

"Hopefully, I never fall off that pedestal," Chuck replied as he kissed the top of her head.

"Any thoughts of adding to your cozy little family?" Nate inquired as they began to pursue the menu.

"We're discussing it," Chuck admitted as his eyes quickly settled on what he intended to order.

"Discussing it . . . as in adding soon?" he pressed.

"We aren't trying yet," Chuck responded, "We've curbed the discussion for a couple more months, but honestly I expect we'll start trying fairly soon."

"Wow!" Nate exclaimed.

"You sound surprised," Chuck heard in my best friend's voice.

"Only because I was with you when Blair was giving birth to Charlotte. I had a front row seat to you punching out your stepbrother and then watched you crumble in my arms," Nate explained.

"It certainly wasn't my finest moment, and I'll admit that I'm not looking forward to the delivery. When I held Charlotte in my arms for the first time . . . it almost made that pain and suffering that I went through worth it," he replied as he hugged Charlotte to him.

"Tell that to your stepbrother with the bruised jaw," Nate quipped.

"He's still with that nurse that came to his rescue. My explosion of temper was the best thing that could have happened to him," Chuck stated defensively.

"Whatever you need, Man, I'll be with you again . . . one hundred percent," Nate assured him, "Shoulder to cry on, ear to talk off, punching bag . . . whatever."

"It's good to know that you always have my back," Chuck stated with an amused grin.

"Although if you do use me as a punching bag, can you go for the gut instead of the jaw like you did with Eric. My mug is a little sweeter than his," Nate added. Both men were laughing as the waitress came to take their order.

"Can you do me a favor and hang onto this for me for a few days?" Chuck inquired as he flipped his best friend a coin he quick dug out of his pocket. "Blair will punch me if she finds it on me, and I have a feeling I'm going to be frisked when I get home."

"A double sided coin," Nate observed as he flipped the coin over. "Do I want to know?"

"We had a minor dispute over which godparent was entitled to spend the afternoon with Charlotte," he chuckled. "Needless to say I tipped the odds in our favor. If my better half finds out, forget Toxic Blair. We'd go straight to Deathly Blair. She won't murder me, but she'll kill any chance I have of seducing her when I get home, which is as good as murdering me."

"Your secret is safe with me," Nate stated as he pocketed the coin.

"That goes for you too, Charlotte," Chuck told his daughter as he kissed the top of her head. "No spilling the beans to Mommy."

Charlotte was happily oblivious to the conversation as she continued playing with her toy. She had such a curious expression on her face. Chuck longed for the day in which she could fully express herself so that he no longer had to guess what was going through her head. She looked as if she had a wonderful imagination that he was dying to share with her. If she was anything like her mother, she would be a fascinating child.

**TBC . . .**

**No Blair and Chuck interaction, but they come together in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Did you leave anything in the stores for the rest of the masses?" Chuck inquired as the doorman began to bring up the vast assortment of bags filled with Blair's purchases. The doorman had already made two trips up the elevator and was sure to return for a third and perhaps fourth.

"Very funny," Blair responded sarcastically as she threw him a displeased look.

"What is all of this?" Chuck inquired as he began shifting through a few of the bags. It was full of baby clothes that were too small for their rapidly growing daughter. "Blair, are you pregnant?"

"WHAT!" she exclaimed as her eyes widened in surprise.

"These clothes," he replied as he held up one of the adorable outfits she had purchased, "They are too small for Charlotte."

"I'm not pregnant," she told him as she snatched the article from her nosy husband and returned it to the bag he had found it.

"Yet," he amended as he kissed her lips softly as he pulled her tight against him. "Then what is with all of the clothes?"

"I told Serena about our little wager, and she got overexcited like she tends to do from time to time. She kept holding up all of these cute newborn clothes, and I just couldn't resist," she explained as her arms came around his shoulders.

"They're newborn clothes for a boy," he told her as his arms ensnared her waist as he began nipping at the exposed skin at her neck.

"I already told you I want a son," she told him as a sigh of appreciation left her lips as his tongue began lapping at her neck, "So it is your job to give me one."

"Is that so," he chuckled as his lips traveled up her neck to her earlobe where he began biting softly as he lifted her into his arms and carried her towards their bedroom. "I thought you wanted to wait until you returned to work before we started trying."

"I do," she moaned as his hands began caressing her body through the expensive fabric she was wearing. Her back arched off the bed suddenly when his hand closed around her left breast.

"So this is just practice," he concluded as his hand found the hem of her blouse and slid underneath as he worked towards her breast again. His hand suddenly stopped moving as he realized he was skimming her abdomen.

"Chuck," she gasped as the cold air hit her skin as he lifted the fabric up so that her stomach was exposed to him. She gasped once again as his lips began grazing her stomach lazily.

"In a few months, another child of mine could be growing inside you," Chuck marveled as he continued to nip at her soft skin. "You don't know what that does to me."

"Where's Charlotte?" Blair inquired as she was suddenly reminded of the one child they already had.

"Asleep in her room," he assured her, "She just fell asleep. We have as much time as we need."

"Good," she groaned as his tongue dipped into her belly button. "You have been planning on seducing me, haven't you?"

"Every minute of every day," he grinned against her skin as his travels finally began working north towards her aching breasts. "One thing I desperately am looking forward to when you become pregnant is how insatiable you become. While you're always insatiable, you certainly take it to a whole new level, and as you know, I'm always up for a challenge."

"Can we stop talking please," she demanded, "All this talk about getting me pregnant is reminding me of the act that gets me pregnant, and I desperately need to make love to you."

"Your wish is my command," he grinned as he continued to nip at her skin as he lifted her blouse over her head. As fast as possible the rest of her clothes were erased from her body as her husband's hands and lips worked her into a frenzy.

Charlotte cried out suddenly and interrupted their pursuit.

"Ugh," Chuck sighed as his forehead pressed against his wife's stomach as his daughter's cries stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You said she just fell asleep," Blair groaned as she reluctantly sat up.

"She did," he insisted as he watched his wife's eyes scan the bedroom in search of her robe, "I watched her eyes close myself not even fifteen minutes before you arrived home."

Charlotte continued to cry out for her parents as Blair pushed Chuck away as her eyes closed in on her robe that she stood to retrieve.

"What's the matter, Sweetheart?" Blair inquired as she walked into Charlotte's bedroom to see her daughter jumping up and down in her crib as tears rolled down her cheeks. As soon as she saw Blair, her arms extended outward as she waited for Blair to pick her up.

Charlotte immediately hugged her mother as she settled down against her.

"She just missed you," Chuck told Blair as he observed the pair together.

"I want another one," Blair told Chuck as she swayed back and forth with Charlotte in her arms.

"We'll get there," he assured her as he kissed her forehead as he watched Charlotte's eyes close again.

Blair pouted as she began rubbing Charlotte's back.

"What if I said I don't want to wait," Blair inquired.

"What about your clothing line?" he inquired, "You haven't even gone back to work yet."

"I don't care," Blair told him.

"You go back to work in a week," he reminded her, "Let's wait to talk about this until you've been back for a week. You may feel differently when you get back into the swing of things."

"Going back to work is not going to change my mind about wanting a second child," Blair insisted.

"I know that," he assured her, "You may just want to wait a little longer."

"I don't I agree with that," she stated as she shook her head vigorously, "Everything in me tells me that I want another child right now, right this very minute."

"Beautiful, you know that I want to give you everything in life that you could ever want, and I intend to give you another child," he told her.

"Then let's get started," she told him.

"Slow down, Sweetheart," he chuckled, trying to play off her demand, even though he could see in her eyes that she was as serious as she had ever been, "We have a wager that applies directly to this discussion, and Charlotte hasn't said her first word yet."

"We both know that Dada is going to be her first word, and since I'm going to win the bet, I choose to start right now," she told him as she gently laid her daughter in her crib.

"That's not exactly the bet," he reminded her, "Our bet is regarding the location not the timing of when, and while you're sure of Charlotte's first word, I am not. The wager was your idea, let's not forget."

"I reserve the right to amend the wager," she told him as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself tight against him as her lips attacked his neck.

"Dirty tactics, Bass," he groaned as she bit down on his Adam's apple, his greatest weakness.

"Make love to me," she hissed as she began unbuttoning his sage, silk, dress shirt as his fingers fisted into her hair as he ravished her lips.

"You know it's impossible for you to get pregnant today," he told her as he pulled away to suck in much needed air. "I watched you take your vitamin this morning."

"My pills are getting flushed down the toilet the first chance I get," she told him just before her lips fused with his once more.

"I'm not above using condoms if I have to," he told her as he pulled away once more.

"We haven't used condoms since forever," she pouted as she stuck out her bottom.

"Not since we were one year into our relationship," he agreed as he pulled her lip into his mouth and began biting it gently, "But I will not have you forcing us into a pregnancy before we are both ready."

"Are you trying to make me angry?" she hissed as she roughly pushed his shirt off his shoulders, "Because it's working."

"I'm not trying to make you angry," he told her. It was an added bonus, he thought in his head.

"You said you wanted another child," she growled as she pushed him out of Charlotte's room so that they could fight it out as loud as they wanted without Charlotte hearing them.

"I do," he assured her as she backed him right into the nearest wall outside of Charlotte's room roughly. After her concussion, they were both very careful to not hit their heads. Nate was still chuckling about that one.

"Then what the hell is the hold up, Bass," she demanded as she yanked his belt free.

"Until this morning, we were planning on waiting a month or so after you returned to work before we tried to conceive. After one lunch with Serena, you're jumping my bones and proclaiming that you want a child right this second," he explained, "I'm sorry, Blair, but I don't think you've thought this all the way through. You know I love you and would do anything to make you happy."

"Then do this," she demanded.

"I will . . . we will," he assured her as he cupped her head with his hands as he caressed her cheeks softly, "When you're ready, and despite what you're telling me, I know you're not ready."

Blair had tears in her eyes as she collapsed against him. His arms came around her to hold her close. His heart broke knowing that he was the cause of her tears. His heart was screaming at him to just give in and let her have her way, but his head was telling him to hold his ground.

"I'm sorry," he repeated like a mantra as she continued to cry against him. He could feel the moisture against his bare chest as her tears continued to flow. There was only one thing that he could really say that would get the tears to stop, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her that they would start trying immediately to conceive the newest Bass. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry," she replied as she pulled away gently, tearing stains streaking her cheek in the most beautiful way imaginable. Even in heartbreak, she was the most beautiful woman in the world in his eyes. "You're right. We have an agreement. I have no right to change that because I want to. Children are an enormous commitment, and I should not be forcing this on you."

"You are not forcing another child on me," he assured her as he wiped the tears away from her cheeks, "I've told you that I want another child with you. Not being ready has nothing to do with my commitment to you or Charlotte. You have my promise of commitment, and that has and will never waver. I just want you to be sure before we jump into this. A lot is going to change in the next week when you go back to work. I want to give you the time you need to adjust to it before this truly wonderful and exciting new chapter in our life begins."

"I love you," she proclaimed as she hugged him tight, her lips caressing his skin as she spoke.

"I love you," he responded as he stroked her hair gently as he continued to hold her close.

"We were interrupted earlier," she reminded him as she slid her robe off her shoulders, "And we now have a little bit of making up to do."

He grinned as he bent down to sweep her up in his arms. Her arms came around his shoulders as her lips found his as he carried her towards their bedroom.

"Just so we're clear. We're waiting to add to our family," Chuck wanted to clarify as he laid her out on the bed gently as he bent over her an arm on each side of her.

"Yes," she sighed, "My pills will stay in their container, and I'll take them regularly until we come to a mutual agreement."

That was all he needed to hear before he dove into making love to his wife. His pants, the last remnant of clothes separating the pair, were quickly discarded as he hovered over Blair.

Her eyes were still shining from the unshed tears from earlier as he lowered himself inside her. His earlier intention of ravishing her with little mercy were set aside as slow and gentle seemed more appropriate. He watched her carefully as he continued to love her body. Her eyes were closed tight, but the sounds escaping her lips told him she was enjoying the rare tenderness that they were sharing. As she climaxed, a few tears fell down her cheeks.

"Blair," he whispered into her ear in hopes to get her to open her eyes as he stilled his actions. When her eyes did open, he was physically startled by the look of love, adoration, and devotion that she gave him. He had expected sadness and disappointment, but there was no trace of her earlier pain. "I don't understand," he told her as his finger traced the path her tear had taken moments earlier. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," she assured him as she wiped at another tear that escaped, "You are amazing. I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to be what I need when I need it. I needed gentle tonight and without having to be told, you were. You're perfect."

He couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped. Chuck Bass and perfect did not go together, but to Blair he was just that.

"You're not done yet," she told him as she arched against him to remind him that while she had found her release, he most certainly hadn't. He almost felt wrong in needing to continue on. Tonight was about her. "Please, Chuck, I need more."

His pace quickened. She was suddenly on fire as she rose up to meet him thrust for thrust. The sounds from her turned primal. She held on tight as her second orgasm rolled through her. He lost control as he spilled inside.

"Perfect," she gasped moments before she passed out from pleasure.

**How about it? Reviews?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

Blair woke up the next morning feeling totally at peace. She was curled up against Chuck as his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. They'd make love repeatedly throughout the night, and she knew he had to be exhausted for he had insisted on doing all the work. As she studied his features, she was mesmerized by how truly handsome he was.

Nate had always been the pretty boy growing up, the one that turned the heads of females young and old, made them go weak in the knees even and because of that, even she had always overlooked Chuck's beauty. That was no longer the case. Chuck was truly the most handsome man she had ever met.

She'd been angry with him for refusing to give her the child she wanted the previous night, but he did so for the right reason. She was comforted by the fact that he wasn't outright rejecting her request, just her timing. She also knew how much it pained him to not give her what she was requesting.

He didn't deny her much in life. Perhaps it was his deep seeded fear of rejection, fear of losing her, fear of waking up one day to discover that the perfection that was his life would be gone. Whatever it was, denying her anything was always difficult. That he did deny her something that she knew he wanted as much as her spoke volumes about how well her truly did know her.

Returning to CB Fashions in less than a week was going to be an enormous change, one that would require adjustment for all involved. She didn't want to tell Chuck, but she was having doubts about going back to work. Knowing that Chuck was going to be home with Charlotte was the only thing that made even thinking about going back to work tolerable. She never would have returned had they needed to hire a nanny.

Blair managed to pry herself from Chuck's embrace without waking him, a rare feat as he was such a light sleeper. She searched the bedroom looking for her robe before remembering that she discarded it in the hallway the previous evening.

"Morning, Angel," Blair cooed as she went into Charlotte's room to find Charlotte wide-awake.

"Mama," Charlotte stated as she held up her hands to Blair.

Blair's eyes went wide as the word registered with perfect clarity. There was no mistaking the word.

"Oh my god, Charlotte!" Blair exclaimed as she picked her up and hugged her tight. "You just said your first word. Daddy is going to be so proud of you, but so upset that he missed it."

"I didn't," Chuck spoke from behind the pair as he rushed in to hug them. He had just made it into the room when Charlotte's voice rung out. He had been momentarily stunned.

"Did you hear that?" Blair inquired as she kissed Charlotte's forehead.

"I heard," Chuck grinned.

"Say it again, Sweetheart," Blair requested, "Say 'Mama'."

Charlotte merely laughed at the request as if to tell her mother that she wasn't going to do anything that wasn't her own idea.

"I was so sure it would be 'Dada'," Blair replied as the full weight of what had just happened hit her.

Chuck tried to hide the Cheshire grin he could feel forming but couldn't.

"Spill, Bass," she demanded, "You're not nearly as surprised as you should be. What did you do?"

"Why would you say I did anything?" he gasped, trying to sound more offended by her accusation that he was. "Our daughter just said her first word. This is a moment to be celebrated."

"After you tell me what you did," she demanded. "I know that smug grin on your face. It's the same look you give when one of your plans falls into place. What did you do?"

"All I've been doing is tutoring Charlotte," he responded innocently.

"To say 'Dada' or 'Mama'?" she pressed.

"What difference does it make?" he inquired, "She said 'Mama'."

"Chuck Bass, you manipulated our daughter's first word so you'd win our bet," she laughed out.

"The bet was not the incentive," he assured her as he laughed along with her, "It's an added bonus, but I've been tutoring Charlotte since her birthday which was a week before we made that bet."

"Chuck," she scolded him as she tapped his shoulder. She tried to give him a stern look, but it came out as more amused. Her daughter's first word was 'Mama'. That meant so much to her. 'Mama' hadn't been in Blair's repertoire until she had spoken twenty or so other words, and it hadn't been directed at her mother. Charlotte had looked at Blair without any hesitation as she called out for her, clear as a bell. For the rest of her life, she would speak millions of words, but this would always be her first. Manipulated or not, 'Mama' would be the answer to the question as to what her first word had been.

Blair suddenly had tears in her eyes as she kissed Charlotte's forehead again.

"Tears of happiness, I hope," Chuck told her as he erased one of the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"Most definitely," she agreed as Charlotte began to play with her mother's hair, watching as a strand curled around her finger, but not pulling as she had been fond of months earlier.

"She loves to play with your hair," Chuck observed as he watched Charlotte work. "Aren't you glad you didn't cut it? You would have denied your daughter this simple pleasure."

"You're glad I didn't cut it," she amended, "You like running your fingers through it."

"I most certainly do," he agreed.

"We should do something fun to celebrate this day," Blair announced, "Perhaps a day at Central Park."

"What a wonderful idea," he replied as he kissed her soundly, "What do you say, Charlotte? Do you want to go play with the penguins and ride the pink ponies?"

"Mama," Charlotte stated.

"We'll take that as a yes for right now," he chuckled as he kissed her forehead.

* * *

"Where do we start?" Chuck inquired as he carried Charlotte through the park. They were at a fork in the road. One led to the penguins, the second to the carousel. Blair was pushing Charlotte's stroller, but as was the trend, their daughter had all thrown a fit when they tried to put her in it. Chuck was all too happy to carry her.

"What do you think, Charlee?" Blair inquired as she pointed down each path as she said, "Penguins or ponies?" Charlotte merely pulled on Chuck's tie and giggled.

"Charlotte," Chuck got her attention, "Penguins or ponies."

Charlotte continued to play with her father's tie while ignoring her parents.

"I think she's leaving the decision up to us," Blair smirked as Charlotte tugged at his tie again.

"Charlotte Evelyn Waldorf-Bass, stop that right now," Chuck scolded her as he freed his tie from her grasp and smoothed it back down. Far from being upset by her father's tone, she laughed out once more. "One day, little girl, you will learn that tone is something not to be laughed at."

Blair began snickering in response.

"Blair Cornelia Waldorf-Bass, you know better," he scowled.

"How about we start with the penguins," Blair suggested as she shoved him on that path before she followed with the stroller. Her laughter was contained until his back was to her and then she began giggling once more. He was so sexy when he tried to pretend he was a stern parent.

As they watched the penguins, Charlotte kept pawing at the glass as she tried to get closer to the graceful creatures as they swam around their habitat. She was getting frustrated at her lack of progress, and her pout was becoming reminiscent of one that Chuck remembered from his childhood whenever Blair couldn't have her way. She was moments away from throwing a tantrum. He could feel it.

"I'll be right back," Chuck told Blair as he gave her a quick kiss before he suddenly disappeared.

"Daddy has that look on his face again," Blair told Charlotte as she watched her daughter continue to search for a way to get to the swimming creatures. "It's the look he always gets when presents are involved. You are such a lucky little princess."

Charlotte didn't seem to care what her mother was telling her. She kept motioned towards the penguins and whining. Blair could tell what she was asking for . . . a penguin of her very own. Blair groaned with dread. She was married to a man that was very capable of purchasing one just to keep his daughter happy.

"Charlotte Evelyn Waldorf-Bass, don't you dare ask your daddy for a penguin," Blair instructed her daughter, "He won't be able to say no to you, and we do not have a place to keep one."

Charlotte let out another whine.

"No," Blair responded as she picked up Charlotte and turned her away from the penguins so that she had her undivided attention. "Charlotte, no penguin."

Charlotte began to squirm in Blair's arms as she tried to turn towards the penguins once more. Blair had to set her back down for she could no longer keep a strong enough grasp on her.

"I'm back," Chuck told the pair as he held something behind his back.

"Charlotte is going to ask you for a penguin, and you need to be strong enough to say no," Blair told him.

He merely laughed as he kissed her before he knelt down next to Charlotte, his mysterious gift still hidden from view.

Charlotte toddled over to him and began yanking on his tie again as she motioned towards the glass again while squealing her request.

"Be strong, be strong, be strong," Blair repeated in the hopes that her husband wouldn't cave. Chuck heard her encouraging words and began chuckling.

"Nobody is strong enough to resist this sweet face," Chuck explained as he picked Charlotte up and produced the gift from behind his back, a large stuffed penguin that was nearly the size of Charlotte. How he had managed to keep the stuffed animal hidden was truly a feat.

Charlotte's eyes widened in delight as she threw her arms around the toy as she let out as satisfied giggle.

"Such a beautiful laugh," Chuck told his wife, "I imagine I now know how Harold felt when you were Charlotte's age and asking for something."

"Daddy always told me how irresistible I was as a child," Blair stated proudly.

"Now it's payback," Chuck told her as he leaned over and kissed her as Charlotte continued to hug the stuffed penguin.

It took some convincing and manipulation, but Blair and Chuck managed to pry Charlotte away from the penguins. The stuffed penguin was now safely buckled inside Charlotte's stroller as Chuck carried her towards the carousel. Blair was bringing up the rear with the stroller with the penguin in full view of Charlotte as she watched it intently over her father's shoulder.

At the carousel, the penguin had to come with as they got on the plastic horse. Charlotte was still a little too young to ride herself, so Blair climbed up and then held her daughter securely as they went up and down as the carousel spun around. Chuck was stuck with the penguin, which he found shed all over his designer suit, but Charlotte was happy so it was worth having to take a lint brush to his trousers later.

"Since you've won the bet you get to choose when we conceive our next child," Blair announced as they road in the limo back to their penthouse. All of the excitement of the day was too much for Charlotte as she was sound asleep in her father's lap.

"Our bet was where, not when," he reminded her as his fingers ran through Charlotte's tiny curls. For a one year old, she already had a beautiful head of auburn hair that she sat patiently to allow her mother to curl nearly each morning. "And believe me, I have that all planned out."

"And you'll tell me where," she prompted him.

"Eventually," he nodded.

She shook her head in amusement. She had known that it was too much to expect for her husband to just give up his plans. He loved planning surprises for her.

"I can't believe she said her first word today," Blair stated as she curled up against Chuck. "Before you know it there are going to be boys knocking down our door begging to go out with her."

Chuck grabbed at his chest in horror. "Slow down there. We have a few years to go before I need to start chasing pimply, pubescent, hormone driven boys away from our daughter."

"She's going to fall for the bad boy," Blair proclaimed.

"No, she's not," he shook his head.

"Girls always fall for boys like their father," she told him, "And you, Chuck Bass, were most definitely the bad boy."

"Is that so," he smirked as he leaned in to kiss her, "Is that why you fell in love with me?"

"I fell in love with you despite you being the bad boy," she corrected him, "Because despite how hard you tried, I could see through that cold exterior right to your core. I saw your heart before you did."

"Charlotte is probably going to sleep for awhile," he told her as he looked down at his still soundly sleeping daughter, "How about I remind you of the bad boy I used to be. You pull out that scarf I gave you. I'll tie you to the bed with it and have my way with you."

"Such a tempting offer," she groaned.

"Too tempting to resist," he spoke hopefully as he kissed her deeply, with more force than he normally used.

Blair moaned against him as her arms went around his shoulders. The limo suddenly stopped. A quick glance outside told him that they were outside their penthouse, and Arthur was waiting patiently outside their door for the signal. Chuck rapped his knuckles against the glass gently so that Charlotte wouldn't wake as he unwound himself from Blair's arms. She had an irresistible pout on her face as he climbed out of the limo with Charlotte.

"I promise to continue after I get you tied to the bed," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her out of the limo."

"You'd better," she warned him as they walked into their building. As always, Chuck generously tipped the doorman that greeted them.

**TBC. . .**

**One or two more chapters left, I think.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"Wake up, Beautiful," Chuck whispered in his beautifully sleeping wife's ear. His hands were fondling her breasts. Even sound asleep she was responding to his touch as a slight gasp left her lips.

Today was his wife's first day back to work since their daughter was born. She'd tossed and turned for most of the night as her nerves got the better of her. He'd held her all night and whispered reassuring words that even in slumber seemed to sooth her frazzled nerves. Her greatest fear for the day was that she would oversleep and be late for her first day back. It almost felt like her first day of school all over again.

"Chuck," she moaned as her eyes fluttered open as she arched into his touch. She desperately needed more. She needed him as she always did.

"Good morning," he whispered into her ear as his lips dusted the shell.

"What time is it?" she inquired as she rolled them both so that she was on top.

"We've got plenty of time for whatever your heart my desire," he assured her as she attacked his neck with her lips.

"I desire you," she mumbled, "What about Charlotte?"

"Sleeping soundly," Chuck assured her, "I just checked on her before I woke you."

"And my handsome husband?" she smirked as she bit down on his chest lightly.

"Hornier than hell for you," he chuckled as his hips rose up almost of their own accord.

"We'd better do something about that," she grinned as she sunk down on him, hissing as he filled her. "Morning is certainly your favorite time of the day."

"Any time with you is my favorite time of day," he corrected her as he flipped her over swiftly and took control of their lovemaking.

"Mine too," she moaned as she gave into him.

* * *

"If you give Charlotte her bath, I have plenty of time to do her hair before I have to leave for the loft," Blair told Chuck as she sat in front of her vanity as she did her makeup.

Their lovemaking had been quick but satisfying. He was about to join Blair in the shower for another round when Charlotte cried out to let them know that she was awake for the day. He now had her in his arms as they watched Blair prepare for her big day.

"We'll manage ourselves," Chuck assured her as he bounced Charlotte on his hip. Charlotte was playing with Chuck's wedding ring on his finger, twisting it around his finger and trying to pry it free. He was being very stubborn about letting her succeed. His ring had never left his finger since they day they were married. He certainly wasn't going to let their daughter ruin that.

"What do you two have planned for your first day of independence?" Blair inquired as she put the finishing touches on her makeup.

"I plan on teaching Charlotte a new word," Chuck told her. While Charlotte would say 'Mama' on command now, she still hadn't expanded her horizons yet, and Chuck was becoming jealous.

"Promise me you won't spend your whole day doing that," Blair requested as she stood up and kissed Charlotte's cheek.

"We have an appointment with Charlotte's pediatrician this afternoon, so we can't spend the entire day doing just that," he reminded her as he pulled his hand free finally as Charlotte was nearly successful. Blair recognized the ring was out of place and returned it to it's rightful place.

"I should be there," Blair stated as she kissed his hand.

"We've talked about this," Chuck reminded her, "I can handle Charlotte's appointment. You need to focus on your work."

"I have been at all of Charlotte's appointments since she was born. I need to be there for this one," she insisted as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

"Charlotte, reassure Mommy that you'll be okay without her today," Chuck told his daughter as he passed her to Blair. On cue she began giggling as she hugged Blair's neck. "Blair, we'll be fine."

After a few more tears and several kisses, Blair stepped onto the elevator as Chuck and Charlotte waved goodbye.

"Well, Sweetheart, it's just you and me," Chuck told his daughter, "And you know what that means, it's time for you to learn a new word. It will come in very handy now that Mommy is at work. I know I was teaching it to you earlier, but it was more important that you say 'Mama' first. I really needed to win that bet. Now repeat after me . . . 'Dada'."

"Mama," Charlotte responded.

"No, Dada," Chuck repeated.

"Mama," Charlotte responded with a giggle.

"You aren't listening," Chuck told her as he carried her into the living room and sat her down on the floor as he sat before her. "Come on, Charlotte, don't you want to say Dada?"

Charlotte merely looked up at him with the usual stars in her eyes. The man before her could do no wrong in her eyes. He hoped with everything in him that he would never do anything to take that look away. He cherished that look. It made him feel like all the hurt he caused so many people over the years had never happened.

Someday he knew he was going to have to sit her down and explain his past and the awful things he did to people, including her mother. There was no justification for what he did, and he knew he'd take responsibility for his actions. His only hope was that she would look beyond all of that and see the man he became after he admitted to falling in love with Blair.

Charlotte began to fuss at having to sit in the same spot for so long as Chuck tried unsuccessfully to coax 'Dada' out of her.

"All right, I can take a hint," Chuck sighed as he picked Charlotte up, "You're just not ready for new words yet, and that is okay. We are going to surprise Mommy at work, and then you need to have your check up with the nice Doctor Coffey. Before we can do any of that, you, Little Lady, need your bath."

Charlotte began to pout at the mention of Doctor Coffey. It wasn't that she didn't like Doctor Coffey; it was more that she knew that she was going to be poked and prodded.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," he told his daughter as he kissed her forehead in assurance, "I'll be with you the entire time."

* * *

"Blair, you have a visitor," Blair's assistant told her as Blair hovered over her drawing tablet. Blair had been in a foul mood for most of the morning. After a warm welcome by her staff, they got right down to work. Blair had found that she had a severe case of designer's block. She thought she was on to something an hour earlier only to discovery that she drew her husband in an elegant business suit he already owned.

"Anything to get away from staring at this blank piece of paper," Blair sighed gratefully as her assistant disappeared. Moments later her door opened again and in toddled Charlotte. "Charlotte!" Blair squealed as she ran over and swept her daughter into her arms.

"Mama!" Charlotte responded happily.

"Oh, I missed you," Blair replied as she hugged her close as Chuck made his entrance with a bouquet of pink peonies in his hand.

"She missed you," Chuck told Blair as he leaned in to kiss her and hand her the flowers. "I missed you too. How's your first day back?"

"Same old routine," Blair shrugged, "Are you here just merely to cheer me up?"

"Mostly to cheer you up. Charlotte's appointment is soon, and your loft is on the way," he told her, "I know how hard it was for me my first day back after that month of paternity leave. I wanted to make it easier on you."

"And you did," Blair assured him as she kissed him lightly.

"We better let you get back to work. High fashion awaits," Chuck told her as Charlotte reached out for him, "We'll be waiting for you when you get home tonight. I have a few little surprises waiting for you."

"I love you," Blair told her daughter as she kissed Charlotte's cheek.

"We love you too," Chuck told her as she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Thank you for coming," Blair replied as she locked eyes with him.

"Hurry home," he told her as he kissed her once more before he and Charlotte left.

Blair felt the inspiration as soon as the door closed behind her family. She went straight to her drawing tablet and began working like a woman possessed, churning out several potential ideas for the upcoming line.

**Last chapter coming soon. I'm open to ideas for my next story. Put your thinking caps on. What do you all want to read next?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.**

"How are you today, Charlotte?" Doctor Coffey asked as Chuck and Charlotte entered her office. Charlotte responded with a shy smile. "Is Blair joining us?"

"Blair went back to work today," Chuck told her as Charlotte's grip on her father's shoulder tightened. She was not happy having to be in the doctor's office, and she clearly was not happy with the small talk that was prolonging her stay. "She wanted to be here, but I convinced her to focus on her work today."

"That must be hard for Mrs. Bass," Doctor Coffey surmised.

"It is," Chuck nodded as Doctor Coffey held out her arms to Charlotte to see if she would come to her. Charlotte responded by hugging her daddy tighter.

"She still doesn't like me, does she?" Doctor Coffey concluded with an exaggerated pout.

"She doesn't seem to mind you that much," Chuck assured Doctor Coffey. "She's not screaming as she tends to do when someone is around that she doesn't like. Her Grandma Eleanor has been on the receiving end of a few screeches. You're more familiar than she is."

"How's her balance been?" Doctor Coffey asked as she took her otoscope and peered in Charlotte's ears, one after the other. Charlotte began whining in protest, but fortunately she held still.

"She's been walking around without any trouble," Chuck told her, "In fact, she's starting to play hide and go seek with us if we take our eyes off of her for more than a few moments. She's faster than she looks."

"No more tumbling over?" Doctor Coffey pressed as she made notes in Charlotte's chart.

"No more than is usual for a toddler just learning to walk," he responded. "When she falls, it's usually on her hands and knees, not her face, so we've made definite progress."

"Ears look healthy," Doctor Coffey told him, "Those tubes are holding tight."

"Any chance they'll need to be reinserted after they fall out?" Chuck inquired as he tried to pry Charlotte's fingers apart so that the circulation would resume in his index finger that she was holding so tight.

"It's a possibility," Doctor Coffey acknowledged, "But her ears will be further developed by then and perhaps the problem will be resolved. We'll have to continue to monitor her."

"I spoke to my physician. He reviewed my medical files. Apparently I was prone to ear infections as a child. They tried to tubes three times before they moved on to the tonsil and adenoid removal," Chuck informed her. He'd been going back and forth with his PI for too long, and Blair finally convinced him to call his doctor just the week prior.

"We're a long ways away from that," she assured him. "Besides Charlotte is far too young to even consider that."

"She started talking last week," Chuck told her.

"That's fantastic!" Doctor Coffey exclaimed. "Let me guess, her first word was 'Dada'."

"'Mama' actually," Chuck corrected her. Doctor Coffey looked at him in surprise. "I'd been teaching her the word for awhile. I think it was more important to Blair than it was to me. I know how attached Charlotte is to me. Blair is not nearly as certain of their bond."

"That's very sweet, Mister Bass," Doctor Coffey smiled at him.

"Blair and I are discussing adding to our family," he told her.

"So soon," Doctor Coffey responded in surprise.

"Too soon?" he inquired. He thought he heard something in her voice that told him that Charlotte wasn't ready for a sibling yet.

"Not at all," Doctor Coffey assured him, "I just assumed that with Blair returning to work that additional children would be put on hold for awhile."

"If Blair had her way, she'd already be pregnant," he chuckled, "But I felt it was important to her to get back into the swing of things at the office before we jumped back into it. Two children will be more time consuming than one."

"It certainly is," Doctor Coffey laughed, "But seeing the two of you with Charlotte, I think you'll be able to handle it. Honestly Mister Bass, the majority of my patients are children from Upper East Side parents, and you and Blair are without a doubt the two most devoted parents I have met."

"It comes from the abandonment issues we both dealt with as children. My mother died giving birth to me. My father was mostly absent from my life until he died. Blair's dad showered her with affection until he suddenly up and moved to France to live with his lover. Her mother was there to criticize on occasion, but was never really the hands on sort. We were both determined that when our time came that we would be for our children what our parents hadn't been to us," he explained.

"I assure you that Charlotte will not suffer through those same issues, not with the way you and Blair dote over her," Doctor Coffey smiled.

After a thorough exam, Charlotte was given a clean bill of health, and the pair where sent on their way. After a short jaunt through Central Park, in which Chuck was careful to keep any penguins or carousel reminders out of Charlotte's view, they returned to the penthouse to prepare for Blair's impending arrival home.

A wonderland of pink peonies greeted Blair as she stepped off the elevator, with Charlotte holding one in her hand, which she was extending to Blair as she waddled towards her.

"What is all this?" Blair inquired as she surveyed the penthouse with wonder as she picked up Charlotte and hugged her tight, taking the flower from her daughter's hand and threading it through the little headband her daughter was wearing.

"Just a little welcome home gift," Chuck told her as he handed her a deep red rose before he kissed her deeply.

"It's good to be home," Blair sighed as she spoke against his lips before she resumed the kiss.

He momentarily forgot about the welcome home surprise he had planned for his wife, that was until Blair spotted the trail of roses that led to their bedroom.

"What is all this?" Blair inquired as she started along the path of roses, which led in two directions. Naturally she turned to follow the path towards her bedroom.

"Wait," Chuck told her as he reached out to grab her wrist before she could get out of his grasp. "That is for after we get Charlotte to sleep."

"What are we waiting for?" she inquired with an urgency in her voice that amused him.

"Patience, Beautiful," he chuckled as Charlotte leaned over while reaching out for Chuck, "She hasn't eaten yet, and she needs her nightly fairytale then you can have yours."

"Come on, Charlotte," Blair replied as she distracted Charlotte enough so she could carry her towards the elegantly set dinner table complete with his wife's favorite meal.

"How did your first day back go?" he inquired as she set Charlotte up in her high chair. "I hope we didn't disturb you with our impromptu visit."

"Quite the contrary," she assured him, "Your visit inspired me. I had serious case of designer's block that suddenly vanished when you and Charlotte appeared. I actually found the perfect idea for my new line."

"I'm happy for you," he replied as Blair began feeding Charlotte while ignoring the gourmet meal in front of her.

"I missed you today, Charlotte," Blair sighed as she wiped the bit of food that dribbled down Charlotte's chin.

"She missed you too," Chuck assured her as Blair leaned in to kiss Charlotte's forehead.

"Do you mind if I read her the fairytale this evening?" she inquired.

He shook his head to let her know he was okay with her request. He suddenly realized if her meal was going to be eaten he would have to feed her as she fed Charlotte as she was too distracted by her pent up longing for her daughter to have any thought of taking care of herself. He reached for her plate and wrapped several strands of pasta around her fork before he tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"You need to eat too, Beautiful," Chuck told her as he held the food to her lips. She nodded before her lips closed around the fork, pulling the food into her mouth. "Such a seductress," he groaned lustfully as her tongue came out to wipe her lips.

Blair then turned her attention back to Charlotte. "Daddy has that look on his face," Blair told her daughter, "It's the one that says we both need to hurry up and eat, so you can get to bed and he can have his way with me. Well, Little Girl, you take all the time you need. Lesson number one on how to handle men: make them wait for it. It makes the payoff so much more worth it."

"I'd appreciate you not teaching my daughter your seduction tactics," he teasingly scolded her, "She's already too adorable for her own good."

"Lesson number two: if he punches you in the sandbox on the playground, give him a second chance. He may actually turn out to be the love of your life," Blair mused as she sent Chuck a teasing smile.

"I didn't punch you. I'd never hit a woman," he chuckled, "I pinched you. There is a world of different, and you chased me around the playground trying to kiss me in retaliation. If only I'd had the sense to just stand still and let you have your way with me back then."

It was Blair's turn to laugh as the memory returned with perfect clarity as he fed her another bite of pasta.

"How about I just have my way with you later," she offered just before she took the second bite from him.

"Sounds like a perfect evening," he replied as he wiped a bit of sauce off her lip with his thumb.

After both Blair and Charlotte had finished their dinner, Blair lifted Charlotte out of her high chair and carried her to her bedroom to get her ready for bed. Charlotte was in a playful mood as she fought with her mother as she tried to get her in her pajamas.

"Come on, Charlotte, be a good girl for mommy," Blair pleaded with her daughter. "The sooner you get into your pajamas, the sooner you get your bedtime story, and the sooner mommy gets her bedtime with daddy."

Chuck was laughing silently from his observation spot against Charlotte's bedroom door. Blair hadn't realized he was there yet, but Charlotte had as she kept pointing towards him and giggling. Chuck waved back before encouraging Charlotte to sit still all without Blair realizing he was the influence that calmed their daughter down so she could finally be dressed.

"Daddy will probably be able to tell this story better than I will," Blair told her daughter as she sat with her in the rocking chair, "But I'm going to give it a shot.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess by the name of Blair. She had everything she had ever asked for . . . material wealth, servants to wait on her hand and foot, minions to do her bidding . . . and a prince," Blair sighed, "Although Prince Nathaniel was handsome, he was just not the prince she needed. See this prince, as well intentioned as he was, didn't stir the feelings inside the princess that she knew there needed to be to have a happy and satisfying life.

"One day, a mysterious, yet strangely familiar prince entered her kingdom and swept her off her feet. Before Princess Blair knew it she was giving Prince Charles the one thing that she held dear, her heart. The prince was terrified at first, for he had never been given such a precious gift, but Princess Blair, having always been given everything she had ever wanted, was persistent. She wore Prince Charles down until he realized that he too loved Princess Blair. Finally one fateful day, he was waiting outside his Palace, gifts and flowers in hand, ready to give her the one thing she desired above anything else . . . his heart. He swept her off her feet and they never looked back. While they lived happily ever after, that is most certainly not the end to their fairytale, for they became the king and queen of their kingdom, and were blessed with an even getter gift, their very own princess, who is the most beautiful little girl in not only the kingdom, but also the world."

"I'm impressed," Chuck finally spoke up as he knelt next to them, "Except you forgot to characterize Princess Nathaniel as dimwitted, and you didn't include the part where Princess Blair hypnotized Prince Charles with her sultry dance at Victrola. That is a key detail to our story, Beautiful."

"Forgive me for skipping that little detail. She's only thirteen and a half months old. I'd figured I'd keep that small detail a secret until her wedding day," Blair replied as she reached out to caress his chin softly.

Chuck closed his eyes to savor the feel of her palm skimming across his face. He was suddenly rose up to capture Blair's lips, the force of his kiss surprising his wife as she gasped while simultaneously granting him the access that he sought.

"Dada," Charlotte spoke out. Her voice was as clear as a bell.

Chuck froze against Blair's lips. His eyes went wide as the two syllables repeated in his head.

"It's about time," Blair laughed out as Charlotte repeated the word again as Chuck began raining kisses all across Charlotte's face.

Charlotte continued to giggle as she stared up at her father with her innocent chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes that would forever melt his heart and make him give her the world.

Chuck took her in his arms and hugged her tight as he spun her around. Had she the ability to ask for anything in the world in that moment, he would have given it to her.

Later that evening, he would pull his wife down the rose covered path to their bedroom and seduce her, but for now he would enjoy the time with his wife and their beautiful daughter. For through his child's eyes, he was the man he had always wanted to be, happy.

**And so we have reached the end . . . yeah right. Something else will be along shortly. **

**So I've complied a list of all your ideas, (which were awesome, thank you) let them churn around in my head for a few days and popped out a few ideas. Now I need you all to decide for me. The option with the most votes will be written.**

**1) Chuck and Blair celebrate the one year anniversary of the start of their relationship and them dealing with issues that resurfaced during their first year together (would take place after 'Don't Let it Be True') **

**2) Chuck and Blair navigating parenthood as they try to tackle the issue of their son Brice acting out (would take place after 'Seven Year Itch'). **

**Let me know what you think. I'll start writing as soon as I know what you all want to read. Note that I am not opposed to writing both, but I can only focus on one at a time, so if you all want them both, I will do it. Keep an eye out. As always, thank you for reading and the encouraging reviews.**


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